emperor’s household, a collective designation for the thousands of slaves and freedpersons of the ruling Roman emperor who performed various governmental functions. In Phil. 4:22, Paul refers to members of the emperor’s household in the area where he is in prison. Most scholars think that this would be either at Rome, Caesarea, or Ephesus, but the reference to “emperor’s household” does not help to narrow down the location, since people who could be referred to by that designation would have been in all three of those cities. Phil. 1:13 makes a reference to the “imperial guard,” but since the governmental workers referred to as the “emperor’s household” were typically debarred from military service, this probably refers to a different group of people (i.e., to Roman military personnel in charge of guarding Paul). See also Philippians, Letter of Paul to the.
R.A.W./M.A.P.
Enan (ee′nuhn; Heb., possibly “little spring [of water]”), the father of Ahira, the tribal leader of Naphtali. He is mentioned five times in tribal lists (Num. 1:15; 2:29; 7:78, 83; 10:27). Functions of his better-known son included leading tribal participation in the census, presenting offerings, and escorting the tabernacle on marches in the wilderness.
encampment (Heb. makhaneh, “bend” or “curve”), a military enclosure. The word itself suggests an encampment’s circular form. Thus, Saul can be said to be sleeping “within the encampment,” with the army camped around him (1 Sam. 26:5; cf. 25:7). The book of Numbers refers to the “regimental encampment” of four different tribes (2:3, 10, 18, 25). Forces under Joshua set up an encampment between Bethel and Ai (Josh. 8:13), and later David came to an Israelite encampment, where he decided to take on Goliath (1 Sam. 17:20). The Greek word used in the LXX to translate makhaneh is parembol–e, which is used for the Roman garrison in Acts 21:34 (NRSV uses “barracks” rather than “encampment” to indicate that the word here refers to an architectural structure). This same Greek word is used again in Rev. 20:9 (NRSV: “camp”), where it refers to the millennial church in its final battle with Satan.
M.A.P.
enchantment. See divination; magic.
Endor or En-dor (en′dor; Heb., “spring of circle,” “spring of habitation,” or “spring of generation”), a Canaanite city belonging to Manasseh (Josh. 17:11–12). It was situated about three miles southwest of Mount Tabor. On the eve of King Saul’s fatal defeat by the Philistines at Gilboa, Saul journeys to Endor to enjoin a medium to raise up Samuel from the dead (1 Sam. 28:3–25). En-dor is also mentioned as the site of the defeat of Midian by Gideon (Ps. 83:10). See also divination; magic; Saul.
J.U.
En-gannim (en-gan′im; Heb., “fountain of gardens”).
1 A town belonging to the allotment of Judah, located in the lowlands (Josh. 15:34). The literary context would indicate that it is in the region near Azekah and Jarmuth.
2 A border town between Issachar and Manasseh (Josh. 19:21; 21:29). It may be the “garden house” of 2 Kings 9:27.
En-gedi (en-ged′i; Heb., “spring of the young goat”), an important oasis, with fresh water and hot springs, on the west shore of the Dead Sea, about eighteen miles southeast of Hebron. It was part of the allotment of Judah (Josh. 15:62). David went to live in the “wilderness of En-gedi” when he was being pursued by Saul (1 Sam. 23:9; 24:1). An alternative name for En-gedi, Hazazon-tamar, is given in 2 Chron. 20:2. In Song of Sol. 1:14, a lover describes his beloved as being like “a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi,” and in Sir. 24:14, Wisdom says, “I grew like a palm tree in En-gedi.” Ezek. 47:10 mentions fishing there. Archaeological excavations at En-gedi have revealed an early settlement from the period of Josiah up to the destruction of Jerusalem (ca. 640–587/6 BCE). The settlement was then completely destroyed and a new settlement was built in the Persian period, probably in the time of Zerubbabel (mid-sixth century BCE).
S.B.R.
engines of war, the machinery for warfare, which could be used for either offensive or defensive purposes. Offensively, battering rams were used quite effectively by armies campaigning in the Near East. Graphic examples of fortified battering rams are given in the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s palace reliefs depicting the siege of Lachish (701 BCE; 2 Kings 18:13–14). Variations of this siege machine were used by the Babylonians and the Romans. Defensively, catapults were used to hurl stones from battlements on city walls. According to the Chronicler, King Uzziah had catapults in some of his fortified cities for hurling stones and for shooting arrows (2 Chron. 26:15). In open-field warfare chariots were well known and extensively used. Like the battering ram, they required support troops for maximum effectiveness. Engines of war are referred to explicitly in the books of Maccabees (1 Macc. 5:30; 6:20, 31, 51, 52; 11:20; 15:25; 2 Macc. 12:15; cf. 2 Macc. 12:27).
J.A.D.
engraving, incising, the practice of impressing deeply in metal, clay tablets, or stone with an iron tool or stylus. The Bible mentions an engraver who did work for the temple (2 Chron. 2:7), one Huramabi by name (2 Chron. 2:13–14), though it also prohibits the making of graven “images” (Exod. 20:4). “Holy to the Lord” was engraved on a gold plate for Aaron’s turban (Exod. 28:36; 39:30). Cherubim, lions, palm trees, and wreaths were engraved on bronze stands in the temple (1 Kings 7:36; 2 Chron. 3:7). Isa. 8:1 mentions clay tablets, and Jer. 17:1 engraving with a pen of iron with a diamond point. Exod. 28:9, 11 and 39:6, 14 refer to two onyx stones with six Israelite tribal names incised on each. Job 19:24 mentions an incised tablet with lead-filled letters. Zech. 3:9 speaks of a seven-faceted stone engraved with an inscription. Artifacts such as seal cylinders and stamps for impressions on documents are relatively frequent. Inscribed Egyptian and Hyksos scarabs can be used for dating archaeological finds.
R.A.C.
Enlil (en′lil; Akkadian, “Lord Wind”), an ancient and important god of Mesopotamia. Though not mentioned in the Bible, he does figure in Mesopotamian accounts of the creation of humankind and human order that are often referred to by biblical scholars (the Atrahasis epic; the Gilgamesh epic). He was the god of the city Nippur and was worshiped there in a temple called Ekur (“House-mountain”). In early Mesopotamia, Enlil was the primary executive of the gods, who bestowed and legitimated divine and human kingship. In a mythological tradition originating in Nippur, Enlil separated heaven from earth, and humankind sprouted forth at the place of the division. Thus, like Ea and the Canaanite El, Enlil was a creator god; like these, he also appears as a patriarchal ruler on whose behalf a young god takes up arms and organizes natural and political structures. In both the Atrahasis epic and the Gilgamesh epic (Tablet XI), Enlil is said to have brought a flood to destroy humankind; the present order emerged as an adjustment necessary to allow humanity to exist without distressing Enlil. In more general terms, Enlil was associated with agriculture and was the god of the wind, of the destructive storm, and of the beneficent breeze of spring. He was also the creator of the primitive farming tool, the hoe, and his wife, Ninlil, was a grain goddess. In a developed form of the pantheon, he shared control of the world with An, Ea, and a mother goddess. Asshur, the god of the Assyrians, was later identified with Enlil. See also Nippur.
I.T.A.
Enoch (ee′nuhk), a sixth-generation descendant of Adam mentioned in Gen. 5:18–24; he was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah. He lived 365 years, walked with God, and God took him. The latter reference has often been interpreted as meaning that Enoch was taken into God’s realm without experiencing death. For this reason, he became viewed as one who might be able to disclose secrets of the divine realm. In the Hellenistic age (300 BCE–300 CE) a corpus of apocalyptic writings was attributed to Enoch (1 Enoch, 2 Enoch; cf. Jude 1:14, which alludes to 1 Enoch 1:9). Enoch is also referred to in the NT, as an ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:37) and as a model of faith (Heb. 11:5; cf. Sir. 44:16; 49:14).
J.J.C./M.A.P.
Enoch, books of. See Pseudepigrapha.
Enosh (ee′nosh; Heb., “humanity” or “the human race”), the son of Seth and grandson of Adam through whom genealogies to Noah, Abraham, and eventually Jesus are traced (Gen. 4:26; 1 Chron. 1:1; Luke 3:38). The Bible says that it was during the time of Enosh that “people began to invoke the name of the LORD” (Gen. 4:26). Enosh lived 905 years and was the father of Kenan (Gen. 5:6–11). He is called Enos in the LXX and in Luke 3:38.
En-rogel (en-roh′guhl; Heb., “spring of a treader or fuller”), a spring near Jerusalem that served as the boundary line between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Josh. 15:7; 18:16). Its name may derive from its use for laundering clothes, a process that might have involved treading upon the submerged garments with one’s feet. During the rebellion of Absalom against his father, David, this spring was the place where information was passed by a maidservant to David’s men (2 Sam. 17:17). Later, when David was near death, his other son, Adonijah, prematurely declared himself king while sacrificing animals and celebrating with his friends by the Serpent’s Stone, which was beside En-rogel (1 Kings 1:5–10). See also Absalom; Adonijah.
F.R.M.
enrollment. See census.
En-shemesh (en-shem′ish; Heb., “spring of the sun [god]”), a spring located east of Jerusalem and Bethany. Known today as Ain el-Hod, it is the last spring on the road between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. In premonarchic Israel it served as the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Josh. 15:7; 18:17).
Epaphras (ep′uh-fras), an associate of Paul mentioned in Philem. 23 and Col. 1:7; 4:12–13. According to Colossians, he was a native of the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor and had worked hard as Paul’s representative in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis. In the Letter to Philemon, Epaphras is identified as being in prison with Paul. See also Colossae; Colossians, Letter of Paul to the.
Epaphroditus (i-paf′ruh-di′tuhs), a Philippian Christian who brought gifts from Philippi to Paul in prison (Phil. 4:18). Epaphroditus had become seriously ill, but then recovered. In his Letter to the Philippians, Paul explains that he is sending Epaphroditus back to them, because he knows that they have heard of the man’s illness and have been anxious about him (2:25–30). Paul refers to Epaphroditus as his “brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier” (4:25). He also indicates that Epaphroditus “came close to death for the work of Christ,” implying that the illness was somehow related to his work on Paul’s behalf (4:30). See also Philippians, Letter of Paul to the.
ephah (ee′fuh), a dry measure equal to the liquid bath and approximately the equivalent of three-eighths to two-thirds of a U.S. bushel (which is equal to 32 quarts). It may also represent the container for such a quantity (see Zech. 5:6–11). See also weights and measures.
Epher (ee′fuhr; Heb., “fawn” or “kid [of a mountain goat]”).
1 A son of Midian and grandson of Abraham and Keturah (Gen. 25:4; 1 Chron. 1:33).
2 The son of Ezrah, a descendant of Judah (1 Chron. 4:17).
3 An ancestral family leader of the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chron. 5:24).
Ephesians (i-fee′zhuhnz), Letter of Paul to the, one of thirteen letters in the NT attributed to Paul. There is some question as to whether the letter was originally (or exclusively) addressed to Christians in Ephesus—and there is also much debate among scholars about whether the letter was actually written by Paul. It is, in any case, similar to Colossians, so that those two letters are often called “literary siblings.”
Contents: After a fairly typical salutation (1:1–2), the author (who identifies himself as “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus”) presents an elegant blessing of God that serves as a liturgical overture to the letter (1:3–14). He declares that God is bringing to fulfillment a plan to gather all things in Christ. Those who were destined to be God’s blameless children have been forgiven their trespasses as a result of the redemption that comes through Christ’s blood, and they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge of further redemption still to come. The blessing segues into a thanksgiving as the writer acknowledges his recipients’ faith and love (1:16–17). He prays that they might be fully enlightened about what God has in store for them and what the power of the risen and exalted Christ will accomplish in and through the church, which is his body (1:15–23). Once dead in trespasses, they have been saved by grace and exalted with Christ to fulfill their destiny as people created for a life of good works (2:1–10). By reconciling all people to God through the cross, Christ has created a new humanity marked by peace rather than hostility; this is manifest in the church, where Jews and Gentiles alike have access to God and, indeed, compose what is now God’s spiritual dwelling place (2:11–22). This new unity of humanity is “the mystery of Christ,” revealed to Paul when he was commissioned by God; now, the church’s role in the divine drama is to make the mystery known, not only to the world of unbelievers, but also to spiritual powers in heavenly places (3:1–13). The author prays again that his readers might comprehend the immeasurable love of Christ manifested in all of this (3:14–19), and he offers a brief doxology to conclude the first part of the letter (3:20–21).
The second half of the letter explicates practical implications of what was proclaimed in the first part. Readers are urged to live a life worthy of their calling (4:1), which means life with others in a community that functions as a single entity (4:2–16). The specifics of such a life are spelled out with reference to a number of behaviors that will set those in the church apart from others, as imitators of God and children of light (4:17–5:20). A series of household instructions indicate how they are to conduct themselves in family and social relationships (5:21–6:9), and an appeal to guard against the wiles of the devil encourages readers to be dressed in spiritual armor provided by God (6:10–17). The letter concludes with exhortations to prayer (6:18–19), a commendation of Tychicus, the letter carrier (6:20–21), and a double benediction (6:23–24).
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Ephesians
I. Address (1:1–2)
II. The church as a fellowship of the redeemed (1:3–3:21)
A. Praise of God (1:3–14)
B. Intercession (1:15–23)
C. Life from death (2:1–10)
D. Jew and Gentile reconciled (2:11–22)
E. Paul’s ministry in revelation (3:1–13)
F. Renewed intercession (3:14–21)
III. Life among the redeemed (4:1–6:20)
A. Unity and diversity in service (4:1–16)
B. The old life and the new (4:17–24)
C. Christians in their communities (4:25–5:14)
D. How Christians should live together (5:15–6:9)
E. The Christian’s armor (6:10–20)
IV. Closing greetings (6:21–24)
E.B.
Authorship: Scholars who think that Ephesians is a pseudepigraphical composition note that the letter is distinct from undisputed Pauline letters with regard to both style and theological concepts. Examples of the former include extremely long sentences, repetitive use of adjectives and synonyms, and distinctive usage of key words: “works” for good works (2:9–10) rather than for works of the law (Gal. 2:16; 3:1, 5, 10, 12), “church” for the universal church (1:22; 3:10, 21; 5:23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32) rather than for a local congregation (e.g., Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 4:17; 14:23; but cf. 1 Cor. 10:32; 15:9). Examples of distinctive concepts include: the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as cornerstone (2:19–20), rather than being built on the foundation of Christ alone (1 Cor. 3:10–11); the Second Coming of Christ has faded in significance, since the power and glory of heaven are experienced now (1:3; 2:4–7; cf. Rom. 8:18–25; 2 Cor. 4:7–18); Jews and Gentiles are merged equally into a new humanity (2:14–16) as opposed to Gentiles being provisionally grafted onto the tree of Israel (Rom. 11:13–21); marriage is highly esteemed (5:21–23) rather than being merely allowed for the sake of controlling lust (1 Cor. 7:8–9); the law is said to have been abolished by Christ (2:15) rather than being described as something that the coming of faith has not overthrown (3:31); the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles is depicted as an accomplished reality (2:11–18) rather than as a future hope (Rom. 11:25–32); salvation is a present reality (2:7–10) rather than a future hope (Rom. 5:9–10; 10:9, 13; 1 Cor. 3:15; 5:5; but cf. Rom. 8:24; 1 Cor. 1:18; 15:2; 2 Cor. 2:15); and, similarly, the exaltation of believers to heaven is a present reality (2:6) rather than a future hope (1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:16–17). Scholars who think the letter is authentic usually date it late in the Pauline corpus and maintain that it evinces development of Pauline thought, evident also in Colossians. They also claim that stylistic differences can be explained by assuming Paul granted a measure of freedom to his amanuensis or to the letter’s coauthors.
Critical Problems: The words “in Ephesus” (1:1) are missing from early manuscripts of Ephesians. Scholars have also noted that the letter is very general in tone, lacking any personal references to the readers. Indeed, certain passages imply that the readers do not actually know the author personally (1:15; 3:2–3; 4:21), though, according to Acts, Paul founded the church in Ephesus and remained there for two and a half years (18:19–20; 19:8–10). Many scholars therefore assume that this letter was intended as a circular tract copied and distributed to different churches—manuscripts that do contain the words “in Ephesus” would simply have been copied from the edition of the letter sent to that particular congregation.
Historical Setting: Given the above, and in recognition of similarities between Ephesians and Colossians, different scenarios emerge. (1) If Paul is regarded as the author of Ephesians, then it could be that he first wrote the Letter to the Colossians to deal with specific issues in that congregation and, while those thoughts were still fresh in his mind, composed what is now called “Ephesians” as a more general letter to be taken to various churches in Asia Minor. In this case, the letter would have been written from prison (6:20), possibly from Rome in the early 60s or from Caesarea or Ephesus itself at an earlier date (mid to late 50s). (2) If the letter is pseudepigraphical, it would have been written after Paul’s death by a disciple or admirer who might have used Colossians as a template (unless this pseudepigraphical author is considered to have written Colossians pseudepigraphically as well). According to this scenario, the letter could have been written at almost any point in the latter third of the first century.
In sum, Ephesians is variously regarded as presenting: (1) Paul’s most mature developed thinking; (2) Pauline ideas filtered through the mind of a gifted apprentice; or (3) non-Pauline ideas attributed to him by an author who developed Paul’s concepts in directions that the apostle himself would not have taken.
| PARALLELS BETWEEN EPHESIANS AND COLOSSIANS | ||
| Topic | Ephesians | Colossians |
| Redemption and forgiveness | 1:7 | 1:14–20 |
| All things in heaven, earth are in Christ | 1:10 | 1:20 |
| I have heard of your faith | 1:15 | 1:4 |
| I thank God always for you | 1:16 | 1:3 |
| Pray that God will give you wisdom | 1:17 | 1:9 |
| Riches of a glorious inheritance/mystery | 1:18 | 1:27 |
| God made you alive | 2:5 | 2:13 |
| Aliens reconciled through Christ’s death | 2:12–13 | 1:21–22 |
| Christ has abolished the law | 2:15 | 2:14 |
| Paul is suffering for their sake | 3:1 | 1:24 |
| Divine commission given to Paul | 3:2 | 1:25 |
| Divine mystery made known to Paul | 3:3 | 1:26 |
| Paul a servant of the gospel | 3:7 | 1:23, 25 |
| Lead a worthy life | 4:1 | 1:10 |
| Humility, meekness, patience | 4:2 | 3:12 |
| Bear with one another | 4:2 | 3:13 |
| Christ is head of the body | 4:15–16 | 2:19 |
| Put off old nature, put on new nature | 4:22–32 | 3:5–10,12 |
| No immorality among you | 5:3–6 | 3:5–9 |
| Walk wisely and make the most of your time | 5:15 | 4:5 |
| Sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs | 5:19 | 3:16 |
| Give thanks to God | 5:20 | 3:17 |
| Tables of household duties | 5:21–6:9 | 3:18–4:1 |
| for wives | 5:22–24 | 3:18 |
| for husbands | 5:25–33 | 3:19 |
| for children | 6:1–3 | 3:20 |
| for fathers | 6:4 | 3:21 |
| for slaves | 6:5–8 | 3:22–25 |
| for masters | 6:9 | 4:1 |
| Paul the prisoner exhorts persistence in prayer | 6:18–20 | 4:2–3 |
| Tychicus will inform church about Paul | 6:21 | 4:7 |
| Tychicus sent to encourage their hearts | 6:22 | 4:8 |
| From Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (courtesy, Baker Academic); see also Charles B. Puskas Jr., The Letters of Paul: An Introduction (Liturgical, 1993), pp. 130–31 | ||
Major Themes: The letter reflects on a number of interrelated themes centering on the relationship of the church to Christ and to Christian behavior. The underlying concept is that a mysterious divine plan of God, in God’s mind since before the creation of the world (1:4), has now been revealed to the apostles and prophets (3:5) and is being accomplished through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. This plan concerns the unity of all humanity in Christ, who is Lord of all (1:9–10). There is concomitant interest in Christ’s defeat of all supernatural “principalities and powers” (1:19–22) and on the elevation of the church as a unified, spiritual entity in which the sanctification of believers becomes a present reality (1:4; 5:27). In a more pragmatic vein, Christian behavior is described as living in a manner appropriate for the household of God (2:7); this includes taking a protected stand against the devil (6:10–17) and following ethical imperatives that recognize “we are members of one another” (4:26; cf. 5:28–30). See also Ephesus; Paul; pseudepigraphy.
Bibliography
Barth, Markus. Ephesians. 2 vols. Doubleday, 1974.
Best, Ernest. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Clark, 1998.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Word, 1990.
Lincoln, Andrew, and A. J. Wedderburn. The Theology of the Later Pauline Letters. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Epistle to the Ephesians: A Commentary. Clark, 1991.
M.A.P.
A PORT CITY of western Asia Minor at the mouth of the Cayster River, Ephesus (ef′uh-suhs) lay between Smyrna and Miletus. Although the area had a primitive shrine to the Anatolian mother goddess, was visited by Mycenaeans, and was peopled by Carians and Lelegians, it was first colonized by Ionian Greeks under the leadership of Androclus of Athens in the eleventh century BCE. The Greeks identified the deity with their own Artemis, but the attributes remained those of the ancient fertility goddess. A new phase of Ephesus’s history began with its conquest ca. 560 BCE by Croesus of Lydia, who contributed columns to the temple to Artemis and reorganized the layout of the city. Lydian influence in Ephesus through the succeeding centuries assured a greater synthesis of Greek and Asiatic culture than anywhere else in Ionia. After Cyrus the Persian defeated Croesus in 547 BCE, Ephesus remained subject to Persian rule until Alexander’s arrival in 334 BCE. In the meantime, the temple had burned (356 BCE), and a new temple to Artemis had been begun, the classical structure that came to be known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, lasting until its destruction by Goths in the third century CE. Only a single reconstructed column and the remains of an altar now mark the spot.
Lysimachus led the building of a new city in the third century BCE, with a new five-mile-long wall, a new harbor, and a Hippodamian street plan. From 281 BCE, the Seleucids held Ephesus until Antiochus III’s defeat by the Romans left it in possession of the kings of Pergamum. Rome took direct rule at the death of Attalos III in 133 BCE. An abortive revolt, linked to Mithradates VI of Pontus in 88 BCE, was put down by the Roman general Sulla, and the city remained peacefully Roman and then Byzantine for the rest of its history. Having dedicated a sacred precinct to Rome and Julius Caesar in 29 BCE, Ephesus became capital of the Roman province of Asia and enjoyed the height of its prosperity in the first and second centuries CE as the fourth largest city in the empire. As the harbor silted up, the city declined in the Byzantine period (ca. fifth to tenth centuries CE), but a new wall and churches were built. The Turkish town of Seljuk today is the sixth city on the site.
Paul in Ephesus: In the NT, Ephesus and Ephesians are mentioned more than twenty times. According to Acts, Paul sailed from Corinth to Ephesus with Priscilla (Prisca) and Aquila for his first visit there (18:19–21). The latter couple instructed Apollos in Ephesus (18:24–26). Paul returned on his third missionary journey (19:1–20:1) to stay for more than two years, preaching and exorcising. The silversmiths in the commercial agora (marketplace) finally rioted at the threat of Paul’s monotheism against their income from miniatures of the Artemis temple and dragged Paul’s companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, into the city’s theater before the town clerk was able to calm the mob (19:23–41). Later, on his way back to Jerusalem Paul met with the elders of Ephesus at Miletus (20:16–38). The presence of Paul’s companion Trophimus, an Ephesian, was later the reason for a riot of Jews in the Jerusalem temple and the arrest of Paul there (21:27–22:30).
In 1 Cor. 15:32, Paul writes that he “fought with beasts at Ephesus,” but whether this is meant figuratively or literally is uncertain. Timothy is charged to remain at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3), Onesiphorus rendered service at Ephesus (2 Tim 1:18), and Tychicus was sent there (4:12). The church of Ephesus is the first of the seven churches of Revelation (1:11; 2:1–7). Most (but not all) biblical manuscripts indicate that the NT book titled “Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians” was addressed to people in Ephesus (Eph. 1:1).
Austrian and Turkish archaeologists have excavated the site for over a century. Along with spectacular public structures such as a theater seating around twenty-five thousand, the vast commercial agora, and a massive imperial temple complex, an entire neighborhood of private homes of the very wealthy has been excavated. The archaeology gives a clear impression of the city as known by Paul. Already in the Augustan period, a concerted effort was made to fuse the religion and culture of Roman imperialism with the indigenous Greek culture, while including foreign influences from across the Mediterranean. An administrative basilica was dedicated to Augustus, Tiberius, Artemis, and the citizenry of Ephesus, and at the state agora the worship of Augustus was coupled with that of Artemis. Over a hundred inscriptions testify to the diversity and tolerance of religious devotion in Ephesus; various associations based on trade networks, professional guilds, neighborhoods, or ethnic origins included in some way patronage by or dedication to a deity. Among them are two from the silversmiths, one recording their devotion to Artemis and the Roman emperor. There has not yet come to light, however, any archaeological evidence of the Jewish community referred to in the NT and the works of the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. The blending of imperial and local culture seems to have been smooth under the Julio-Claudians, though the massive temple complex to the emperor Domitian (81–96 CE) appears intrusive. It did establish the city as the official neok–oros, or temple warden, of the imperial cult in Asia Minor.
The Hanging Houses at Ephesus built on terraces overlooking the Curetes Street underscore the wealth of Roman Ephesus. Colorful mosaics, artistic frescoes with mythological and philosophical themes, and marble sheeting from across the empire testify to the city’s affluence and taste. See also Artemis of the Ephesians; Ephesians, Letter of Paul to the; shrine; smith.
Bibliography
Finegan, Jack. The Archaeology of the New Testament: The Mediterranean World of the Early Christian Apostles. Westview, 1981.
Koester, Helmut, ed. Ephesos: Metropolis of Asia. Trinity Press International, 1995.
C.H.M.
ephod (ee′fod), an article of clothing most often associated with priestly garments, but also mentioned in other contexts. The ephod is one of the elaborate garments described for Aaron and his descendants to wear in the tabernacle (Exod. 28; 39). It appears to be an ornate, sleeveless garment, made of twisted linen and decorated with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet material. It was accompanied by shoulder pieces and a woven belt made of the same materials. The shoulder pieces were adorned with two onyx stones on which were written the names of the sons of Jacob who were regarded as the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. A breastplate was also worn over the ephod, and it was decorated with twelve stones bearing the names of the twelve tribes. A pocket in this breastplate held the Urim and the Thummim, lots that could be cast for divination. The ephod is the only part of the priestly vestments described in the Pentateuch to be mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. A priest can be referred to as one who is chosen by God to wear an ephod (1 Sam. 2:28). Thus, Saul’s priest wears an ephod at the battle of Michmash (1 Sam. 14:3), and, at Saul’s command, Doeg the Edomite killed “eighty-five who wore the linen ephod” (i.e., eighty-five priests) at the temple of Nob (1 Sam. 22:18).
Elsewhere in the Bible, a “linen ephod” is worn by Samuel (1 Sam. 2:18) and David (2 Sam. 6:14; 1 Chron. 15:27). These latter references could be to some ordinary garment, or they might also suggest some emulation of the ceremonial garb. Samuel wears his ephod while serving in the sanctuary at Shiloh, and David wears his when dancing before the ark. Since David is specifically “girded with a linen ephod” (2 Sam. 6:14), the garment in question appears to be more like a loincloth than a tunic (cf. 6:20). Ephods are also mentioned in several other contexts, including ones that involve idolatrous or inappropriate worship. Gideon made an ephod for himself, and it became a “snare” to him and his family, as “all Israel prostituted themselves to it” (Judg. 8:27). A man named Micah is said to have made a shrine with teraphim and idols in the hill country of Ephraim, and to have also made an ephod and installed one of his sons as the priest (Judg. 17:5; 18:14–20). Finally, in certain passages an “ephod” seems to be an object that one uses for divination (1 Sam. 23:6, 9; 30:7); this might derive from the fact that the breastpiece attached to Aaron’s ephod held the Urim and Thummim. See also priests; tabernacle; Urim and Thummim.
C.L.M./M.A.P.
ephphatha (ef′uh-thuh), the contraction of an Aramaic verb meaning “Let it be opened.” In Mark 7:34 Jesus gives this command while curing a man who is deaf and unable to speak.
Ephraim (ee′fray-im; Heb., probably “fruitful place”; note Gen. 41:52 for a popular etymology).
1 Joseph’s younger son born in Egypt to Asenath. Ephraim was blessed by Jacob (Gen. 48:1–20) and favored over his brother Manasseh, portending the ascendancy of the Ephraimite tribe.
2 An increasingly prominent Israelite tribe. Josh. 16 and 17:14–18 show the tribe and territory of Joseph replaced by two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Josh. 16:4). Josh. 16:5–10 gives Ephraim’s boundaries from premonarchic times (prior to tenth century BCE). Josh. 17:7–12 gives the boundaries of Manasseh, showing Shechem with its fertile vale as belonging to Manasseh. But Ephraim’s lands had better soil and were more easily protected than those of Manasseh, and eventually Shechem was also listed as part of “the hill country of Ephraim” (Josh. 20:7; 21:15, 20–21), reflecting perhaps the redefinition of districts that occurred under Solomon (1 Kings 4:7–19). Possibly 1 Chron. 7:28–29 retains an authentic memory of the further expansion of Ephraim. By the mid-eighth century BCE, Ephraim became for Isaiah and Hosea a designation for the whole northern kingdom; in Isaiah, it is allied with Syria in the “Syro-Ephraimite war” (7:1–17; cf. 2 Kings 16:5–9), and throughout Hosea it is the disloyal covenant partner of God (e.g., 5:3–14). Ephraim’s immensely important role in Israel is indicated in part by the fact that Bethel, Shiloh, and at some point Shechem, all ancient worship centers, were in Ephraim. Joshua was an Ephraimite (Num. 13:8; cf. Deut. 34:9); he and Eleazar, who allotted the land (Num. 34:17; Josh. 14:1), were buried in Ephraimite towns (Josh. 24:29, 33). Other Ephraimites include Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1) and Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:26), men who embodied the northern attitude toward monarchy (i.e., severe limitation in view of and identification of God as Israel’s true king). The judges Tola, Abdon, and Deborah were also all connected to Ephraim (Judg. 4:5; 10:1; 12:15). See also Bethel; Joseph; Manasseh; Shechem; Shiloh; tribes.
3 A town in 2 Sam. 13:23 where Absalom murdered Amnon, who had raped his sister Tamar. It was most likely located near Bethel in Ephraimite territory (see also John 11:54; 1 Macc. 11:34), but it could have derived its name simply from being a “fruitful place.” See also Abdon; Absalom; Tamar.
4 A forest in the Transjordan near Mahanaim, where Absalom met his death. As with 3 above, it might have been so named because of its fruitfulness; otherwise its name could be evidence along with Judg. 12:4 that the Ephraimites controlled this portion of Manasseh’s eastern holdings at some time.
E.F.C.
Ephraimite (ee′fray-uh-mit), the term for a person of the tribe of Ephraim (translating Heb. ’ephrati in Judg. 12:5; 1 Sam. 1:1; 1 Kings 11:26, which is elsewhere translated “Ephrathite”).
Ephrath (ef′rath).
1 The place where Rachel was buried, after she died while giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:16, 19). It is identified in Genesis as Bethlehem (35:19; 48:7), but there could be a confusion of Ephrath and Ephrathah, which is associated with Bethlehem in Ruth 4:11 and Mic. 5:1. Elsewhere, Rachel’s tomb is said to be at Zelzah in territory of Benjamin (1 Sam. 10:2) near Ramah (Jer. 31:15). Thus, many scholars assume that Ephrath was in southern Benjamin.
2 The wife of Caleb (1 Chron. 2:9), spelled Ephrathah (with feminine endings) in 1 Chron. 2:50 and 4:4. See also Ephrathah.
Ephrathah (ef′ruh-thuh; Heb., “fertility”).
1 The wife of Caleb, a descendant of Judah; the mother of Hur, the ancestor of Bethlehem, Kiriath-jearim, and Beth-gader (1 Chron. 2:50; 4:4). She is also called Ephrath (1 Chron. 2:19).
2 Another name for Bethlehem or the area immediately surrounding it (Ruth 4:11; Mic. 5:2). Jesse, David’s father, is called an Ephrathite of Bethlehem (1 Sam. 17:12), as are Naomi’s sons (Ruth 1:2). The identity of Ephrathah in Ps. 132:6, where it is associated with the “field of Jaar,” is uncertain. Some scholars understand the field of Jaar to be Kiriath-jearim west of Jerusalem on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Ephrathah would then refer to the district around that field, perhaps including the area around Bethlehem some ten miles to the southeast. Other scholars simply equate Ephrathah here with Bethlehem. See also Bethlehem; Ephrath; Kiriath-jearim.
D.R.B.
Ephron (ee′fron).
1 A Hittite, the son of Zohar, who sold Abraham the cave of Machpelah as a burial place for Sarah (Gen. 23; 25:9; 49:30–31; 50:13). See also Hittites; Machpelah.
2 A city near Bethel mentioned in 2 Chron. 13:19. The place is not mentioned elsewhere, and there are variant readings in some manuscripts. The Hebrew Masoretic Text has “Ephrain,” and other manuscripts identify the city as Ophrah (mentioned elsewhere in Josh. 18:23).
3 A major fortified city east of the Jordan between Karnaim and Beth-shan, captured by Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc. 5:45–51; 2 Macc. 12:27–28; Josephus Antiquities 12.8.5).
4 Mount Ephron, a hill on the Judean boundary (Josh. 15:9; 18:15).
G.M.T.
Epicureanism (ep′i-kyoo-ree′uhn-izm), a philosophical school founded by Epicurus (341–270 BCE). Epicureans discussed Paul’s religious beliefs with him in Athens, after hearing him preach on the Areopagus (Acts 17:18). Epicurean teaching was expounded in a lengthy poem by the first-century BCE Latin writer Lucretius. Epicureans were often maligned as “atheists,” since they held that sense perception was the only basis for knowledge. Everything had come into being out of atoms and the void. A random “swerve” in the path of the atoms caused the world to come into being and provided the material basis for free will, since no god had created or ruled over human beings, according to the Epicureans.
Epicureans argued against fear of death, since in their view death was merely the dissolution of the atoms entangled to make up the human, and they argued against fear of the gods, who enjoyed their own blessedness without concern for human affairs. The Epicureans counseled that people who were free from these fears should seek to live a peaceful life in which the body is free from pain and the mind is undisturbed. Consequently, one should choose a private life, pursuing this ideal in the pleasant company of friends.
P.P.
epistle, a written communication, sometimes considered to be synonymous with a letter and sometimes distinguished from the letter genre. The English word is derived from the Greek epistol–e, a common word in the NT world for all kinds of letters. In the early twentieth century, the strong tendency was to distinguish letters from epistles: a “letter” was a personal and transitory correspondence, intended only for the person(s) to whom it was addressed; an “epistle” was a literary work intended for circulation. Thus, an epistle was both more impersonal and permanent than a letter, and its letterlike features (salutation, signature, etc.) were regarded as stylistic devices. According to this scheme, all of the undisputed letters of Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon) as well as 2 and 3 John were considered to be genuine letters. Most, if not all, of the remaining NT documents that are in letter form were to be classified as epistles, viewed more as sermons or theological essays than actual letters. This organizational scheme, however, fell out of favor in the latter part of the twentieth century. There were disputes over which writings fit into which categories: on the one hand, it can be argued that all of the epistles/letters in the NT were intended for specific audiences; on the other hand, it can be argued that all of these writings were intended for some degree of circulation beyond their original recipients. By the end of the twentieth century, most scholars had ceased to distinguish between letters and epistles; the term “letter,” furthermore, came to be the preferred term for all NT documents from Romans through Jude. See also letter.
J.L.W./M.A.P.
Epistles, Johannine. See John, Letters of.
Epistles, Pastoral. See Timothy, First Letter of Paul to; Timothy, Second Letter of Paul to; Titus, Letter of Paul to.
Erastus (i-ras′tuhs; Gk., “beloved”), three persons associated with Paul. It is possible that two of more of the following could be the same individual.
1 A city treasurer (or perhaps superintendent of public works), probably of Corinth, among Paul’s “fellow workers” sending greetings (Rom. 16:23). A first-century paving stone bearing this name has been found in the ruins of Corinth.
2 Paul’s colleague sent with Timothy from Ephesus into Macedonia (Acts 19:22).
3 An associate who remained in Corinth (2 Tim. 4:20).
| MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS OF THE GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD | |
| Epicureanism | |
| • Traces its origins to Epicurus (341–270 BCE). • Allows for free will, questioning the role of fate (or of the gods) to determine human lives. |
• Those seeking true pleasure avoid those things that lead to disappointment, pain, or grief (romantic love, emotional attachment, political commitments, devotion to material things). |
| • Pleasure is the ultimate goal of life, but true pleasure is found through the attainment of tranquility (freedom from anxiety), not through simple gratification of desires. | • Rejects any sense of afterlife; what meaning life has is to be found here and now. |
| • Those seeking true pleasure exercise their free will to enjoy good things in moderation and to make responsible choices that improve their lives and the lives of others. | • Sometimes degenerated into a notion of freedom from accountability or responsibility (rather than from anxiety); proponents then regarded as “pleasure seekers” in a crass sense and the philosophy viewed as license for self-indulgence. |
| Stoicism | |
| • Traces its origins to Zeno (333–264 BCE), reshaped by Epictetus in first century CE. • Everything is predetermined—history is cyclical and happens repeatedly. |
• The person seeking virtue appreciates the logic of the universe (called Logos or Reason) and is indifferent to circumstances (“No reason for joy, still less for grief”). |
| • Virtue is what matters most in life—and it is attainable through acceptance of fate. | • The moral obligation of virtue accentuated by Epictetus: love and respect for all people, whose merits and station in life lie beyond their control. |
| Cynicism | |
| • Traces its origins to Diogenes of Sinope (ca. 410–324 BCE). • More a lifestyle than dogma—emphasized radical authenticity and independence. |
• Independence attained through renunciation of what cannot be obtained freely, by embracing simplicity and voluntary poverty and desiring to have only what is natural and necessary. |
| • Athenticity attained through repudiation of shame: no embarrassment over bodily features or functions; no concern for reputation or status. | • Diatribe employed for pedagogical instruction—a style of teaching or argument that uses rhetorical questions to engage in conversation with an imaginary partner. |
| From Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (courtesy, Baker Academic) | |
Erech (ee′rik; Akkadian Uruk), the ancient name of a southern Babylonian city, now known as Warka, situated near the Euphrates River. The Table of Nations in Gen. 10 includes Erech in the kingdom of Nimrod. Ezra 4:9 mentions Ashurbanipal’s seventh-century deportation of Erech citizens to Samaria. Archaeological excavations reveal that by the fourth millennium BCE, Erech (or Uruk, as the Babylonians called it) covered approximately two hundred acres; and the first evidence of pictographic writing and numerical notation on clay tablets appeared ca. 3100 BCE. This fits with Babylonian mythology, which identifies “Uruk” as the place where the goddess Inanna brought the arts of civilization to humanity. The city was holy to Inanna and to Anu, head of the Sumerian pantheon. It housed two major temple complexes; Inanna’s temple, called Eanna, preserves eighteen archaic levels, and the “white temple” of Anu remains the best example of a Sumerian “high temple” discovered thus far. Another archaeological find, the Uruk Vase, depicts components of Sumerian cultic practices. The city also housed an important cuneiform scribal school and astronomical observatory until the last century of the first millennium BCE.
L.E.P.
Esar-haddon (ee′suhr-had′uhn; Assyrian Assur-aha-iddina), king of Assyria 681–669 BCE. Esar-haddon came to the throne after the murder of his father, Sennacherib, by his brothers. He was not an accomplice to the murder. He rebuilt Babylon and became king of Babylonia; he defended the northern borders against Cimmerian and Scythian incursions; he reasserted and strengthened imperial control, especially in the west, in part for the purposes of controlling mercantile centers (e.g., Phoenicia), and he expanded the borders of the empire into Egypt. Some of the cultural and religious policies of King Manasseh of Judah (2 Kings 21:1–18) may have been due to the constant presence of Assyrians in the west, although the Assyrians did not require vassals to accept Assyrian religious practices. During Esar-haddon’s reign, diviners and exorcists exercised particular influence in the Assyrian royal court, in part perhaps because of the king’s chronic ailments. It is likely that he suffered from a skin disease, systemic lupus erythematosus. A large body of correspondence has survived from the last three or four years of Esar-haddon’s reign, and these letters are a rich source of information about Mesopotamian religion and medicine. Around 672 BCE, Esar-haddon established the succession to his throne(s): Ashurbanipal was to be king of Assyria, and Shamashshumukin, king of Babylonia. A treaty binding governors and vassals to abide by and support this succession was drawn up. The vassal treaties show points of similarity to Israelite covenant material in Deuteronomy. See also Manasseh.
I.T.A.
Esau (ee′saw), the older son of Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 25–36). At his birth, Esau was unusually red and hairy in appearance, descriptions that involve puns on his legacy. Esau eventually settled in Seir (related to the Hebrew word for “hair”) and his descendants were said to live in Edom (from the Hebrew word for “red”; Esau himself is also sometimes called Edom; cf. Gen. 36:1, 8). His birth was also noteworthy in that he was the first of two twins, and the second born (Jacob) came out of the womb grasping Esau’s heel: a portent of usurpation. Esau was “a hunter and a man of the field,” while Jacob was “a quiet man, living in tents” (Gen. 25:26); furthermore, “Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob” (25:37). As the firstborn, Esau was entitled to the primary blessing and birthright of his family, but he forfeited both, due to his own foolishness (25:27–34) and the trickery of his mother and Jacob (27:1–45). The Genesis account relates that, after losing this blessing, Esau wanted to kill Jacob (27:41–45), but after some time his anger passed and the two were reconciled (33:44–49; cf. 27:44–45).
Esau would become the paradigm of the rejected elder son displaced by the younger, a recurring motif in the Bible (cf., e.g., Gen. 49:17–19). Although Esau is portrayed in Genesis as gracious (33:1–17), in the ongoing Hebrew tradition he comes to be mentioned primarily by way of association with the territory of Edom, Israel’s rival, and so the motif of his rejection by God becomes dominant (Mal. 1:2–3; Deut. 2:4–29; Jer. 49:8–10; Obad. 6–21). Esau is also mentioned in the NT writings. Heb. 11:20 portrays him as a recipient of blessing, but then 12:16 calls him “an immoral and godless person who sold his birthright for a single meal.” Quoting Mal. 1:2–3, Paul cites him as an example of one who was not chosen by God (Rom. 9:13). See also Edom; Jacob.
W.B.
eschatology (es′kuh-tol′uh-jee), beliefs or teaching about last things. The word derives from eschatos, the Greek word for “last.” Biblical writings often distinguish between the present age or eon, the period of history in which life is being lived, and the future, coming age, or period of transformed existence that God will bring at the end of history. The latter age or eon is sometimes also referred to as the age to come, the kingdom of God, the new world, or messianic age. The term “eschatology” is inherently ambiguous, since it may refer to teachings about events expected to take place during the last days (which belong to the present age) or about phenomena associated with the age to come.
In the Hebrew Bible: Many biblical texts suggest that on the “day of the LORD,” God will deliver people by overthrowing their enemies (Amos 5:18–20). Some later texts likewise give expression to the hope that, on the “day of the LORD,” God will bring judgment against other nations for their offenses (e.g., Isa. 13:1–19:17; Jer. 46–51; Ezek. 25–32; Obad.; Zeph. 2:4–15). Generally, the implication is that after the “day of the LORD” these nations will never again cause Israel or Judah grief. Most of the prophets, however, warned their contemporary Israelites (or Judahites) that God would bring disasters upon them as well because they had violated the covenant relationship. Such violations consisted of worshiping other deities, failing to practice justice and mercy, or otherwise neglecting to observe God’s commandments or walk according to God’s ways (e.g., Jer. 2–8; Hos. 4–10; Amos 4–8; Mic. 1–7).
Most of the prophets also promised that God would make a new beginning with the people. In many texts, such promises give expression to the hope that God will transform the conditions of historical existence, bringing about a new or messianic age (e.g., Isa. 2:2–4; 11; 35; Jer. 31:1–37; Ezek. 16:53–63; Hos. 2:14–23). These texts often look for the appearance of David, or one of his descendants, who will rule over the newly transformed world on God’s behalf (e.g., Isa. 11:1–5; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 37:24–25; Zech. 3:8; 9:9). Other texts describe transformed conditions, but without mentioning any Davidic or other human king (e.g., Isa. 2:2–4; Jer. 31:1–37; Zech. 14:1–21). A few prophetic visions look for the creation of a “new heaven” and a “new earth” (Isa. 65:17; 66:22).
Among the eschatological events that would mark the beginning of, or life in, this new age were the return of Elijah (Mal. 4:5–6); certain cosmic signs or phenomena (Joel 2:30–32); the reunification of Israel and Judah (Ezek. 37:15–22); the establishment of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 11:19–20; 34:25–31; Hos. 2:18–23); and peace among all nations (Isa. 2:2–4; Mic. 4:1–4), whose people, in some visions, would join in honoring and worshiping God (e.g., Isa. 2:2–3; 19:23–25; 66:18–19; 23; Zech. 14:16–19; Tob. 13:11). Some prophets also looked for the new age as a time of peace and harmony among all creatures, human and animal alike (e.g., Isa. 11:6–9; 65:25; Hos. 2:18). It would be a time when the earth would yield preternatural crops of grain and fruit—perhaps signifying that the ground was no longer “cursed” because of human disobedience (Isa. 25:6; Ezek. 47:6–12; Joel 2:21–26; 3:18; Amos 9:13; cf. Gen. 3:17–19; 4:12). Some texts visualize the new age as one in which Israel or the Jewish people will rule over other nations or one in which other nations will no longer exist (e.g., Joel 3:19–21; Obad.; Zeph. 2:4–15). A few passages in Ezekiel anticipate that wild beasts that threaten human life will be removed (34:25–28). Ezekiel and Zechariah picture a magnificent new temple at the center of the transformed, messianic world (Ezek. 40–48; Zech. 1–8).
Jewish Writings from the Second Temple Period: Additional eschatological themes begin to appear in the apocryphal/deuterocanonical writings as well as in the Pseudepigrapha and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are references to holy angels or “watchers” who function as divine emissaries or viceroys (e.g., Dan. 10:13–14; Tob. 12:15) and also to Belial (or Beliar), the devil, Satan, demons, or other evil, cosmic, quasi-supernatural beings bent upon causing harm (e.g., Tob. 3:7–8; Wis. 2:24; Jub. 10:5–9; 1 Enoch 15:11–16:1). At some point in the future, God and the angels will fight these evil powers and, after a time of terrible tribulation, prevail over them (Add. to Esther 11:5–9; Qumran War Scroll; 2 Esd. 13:31–34; cf. Ezek. 38:1–39:20; Dan. 12:1; Joel 3:9–15). There will be a day of judgment, and then God’s reign will be established forever on earth as well as in heaven. Jerusalem will be decked with jewels (Tob. 13:16–18). The righteous will enjoy abundant food and drink—sometimes characterized by interpreters as “the messianic banquet” (e.g., 2 Enoch 8; 2 Bar. 29:3–8). But the wicked will be condemned to eternal torment or even extinction (e.g., Jth. 16:17; 1 Enoch 103:7–8; 2 Esd. 7:61; cf. Isa. 66:24). Some of these motifs or expectations also appear in the background in many early Christian texts.
NT Gospels: Different understandings of NT eschatology derive from variant interpretations of Jesus’s teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God in the Synoptic Gospels. On the one hand, a number of texts have been viewed as indicating that Jesus expected the kingdom of God to come in the near future (e.g., Matt. 4:17; 6:10; 10:5–23; 16:27–28; Mark 1:14–15; 9:1; 15:43; Luke 9:26–27; 10:1–12; 11:2; 21:31–32). On the other hand, other texts have been interpreted to mean that Jesus believed the kingdom of God was already present, “realized” or actualized in his own person and ministry (many of Jesus’s parables are read to this effect, in addition to Matt. 11:11–22; 12:28; Luke 11:20; 17:20–21). Studies in NT eschatology have also focused on Gospel materials dealing with the future coming or appearance of the Son of Man (e.g., Matt. 19:28; 25:31; Mark 8:38; 13:24–27; 14:62; Luke 12:8); some texts appear to link the coming of the Son of Man with that of the kingdom of God (e.g., Matt. 16:24–28; 19:16–30; Luke 17:20–24; 21:25–32).
In recent discussions, most scholars have tended to affirm that the Gospel authors believed the kingdom to be already present in some sense in the life and work of Jesus, while also believing that the consummation of the kingdom in a fuller sense would not come until the Parousia of the Son of Man. There is discussion in NT studies as to whether the Son of Man sayings and/or the future kingdom sayings ought to be regarded as authentic utterances of Jesus or as latter attributions to him on the part of the early church. Either way, however, some eschatological expectations expressed in the Synoptic Gospels had clearly not been fulfilled at the time those Gospels were written: the world had not yet been transformed; the anticipated final tribulation had not yet occurred (Matt. 6:13; Mark 13:19; 14:38); the resurrection of the dead was still to come (Matt. 12:41–42; Luke 11:30–32); the judgment had not yet taken place (Matt. 11:21–24; 12:38–42; 25:31–46; Mark 9:43–48). Still, it appears that the Gospel writers did believe that some events associated with the eschatological timetable had occurred or were occurring: John the Baptist had come, in the role of Elijah, the final prophet and preacher of repentance before “the great and terrible day of the LORD” (Matt. 11:2–15; 17:10–13; Mark 9:9–13; cf. Mal. 4:5–6); the exorcisms and healings performed by Jesus and his followers were a sign that the strong power of evil had been curtailed (Matt. 12:29–30); the good news of the kingdom was being preached throughout the nations (Matt. 28:19; cf. 24:14); and if Jesus himself was to be the designated Messiah of the new age, then that Messiah could be said to be already present with the community (Matt. 18:20).
The Gospel of John offers a different eschatological focus. There are references to the “last day” (e.g., 6:39–40, 54; 11:24), but there is very little attention to the return or Second Coming of Christ (mentioned only in 21:22). The emphasis, rather, is on the qualitative change in one’s life that is effected by knowing the truth revealed by Jesus (cf. 10:10; 8:32; 20:31). Eschatological themes normally associated with the end times are present in the Gospel of John, but they tend to be offered with emphasis on present-day experience. Thus, one can enter the kingdom of God now by being “born from above” (or “born again,” 3:3). Likewise, judgment occurs in the present: those who do not believe in the Son have been condemned already (3:18) and those who believe in Jesus have already passed from death to life (5:24). Jesus will come for all individuals at some point, to take them to his Father’s house (14:1–3) but, for believers, eternal life has already begun (3:36).
NT Letters: Many NT writers urged readers to look for Jesus’s coming “soon” or within their own lifetimes (Rom. 13:11–12; 16:20; 1 Cor. 7:29; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:37; James 5:8; 1 Pet. 4:7). At the same time, the NT letters recognize that strategies for mission, leadership, discipline, and ethics have to be developed for living in the interim before that happens. In general, the undisputed letters of Paul (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon) reveal more of an accent on imminent expectation than do many of the other NT letters. Paul assumes that he will be alive to see the Parousia (1 Thess. 4:17), and he even questions the advisability of believers marrying and starting families since “the appointed time is short” and “the present form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:8, 25–31). Paul does affirm that those “in Christ” are already experiencing “a new creation” that began with Jesus’s death and resurrection (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), but when the Parousia comes, the “dead in Christ” will be raised, those still alive will be “changed” or transformed “in the twinkling of an eye,” and all will join together “in the air” to enjoy life with Christ forevermore (1 Cor. 15:35–55; Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; cf. 2 Tim. 4:18). In Ephesians, by contrast, believers who have not yet died are said to be already seated with Christ in the heavenly places (2:6). Indeed, in Colossians, events normally associated with the end times are said to have already occurred: believers have already been rescued from the power of darkness (1:13); they have already been transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (1:13); they have already been raised with Christ (2:12; 3:1); the spiritual powers that might oppose them have already been disarmed and Christ has already made a public display of his triumph over them (2:15). If one asks when all these things happened, the answer might be that they have already occurred in the future—these letters seem less concerned with temporal chronology than with explicating the absolute certainty of what God has accomplished. Other letters attributed to Paul, especially the Pastoral Letters, are devoted to establishing the church as an institution that will have the stability to endure for generations (if necessary). A few NT books seem intent on explaining why the end has not come as soon as some expected (2 Pet. 3:11–13; Jude 17–21) or, indeed, with explaining why it might still be some time in coming (2 Thess. 1:5–10). Finally, the book of Revelation offers a vivid vision of the end times as a period of intense suffering and apostasy, culminating in God’s creation of “new heavens” and a “new earth” in place of the old (21:1; cf. 2 Pet. 3:10–13). See also apocalyptic literature; eternal life; heaven; hell; judgment, day of; kingdom of God; messiah; millennium; Parousia; resurrection; son of man, Son of Man.
Bibliography
Allison, Dale C., Jr. The End of the Ages Has Come. Fortress, 1985.
Gloer, W. Hulitt, ed. Eschatology in the New Testament. Hendrickson, 1988.
Hanson, Paul D., ed. Visionaries and Their Apocalypses. Fortress, 1983.
Powell, Mark Allan. Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey. Baker Academic, 2009.
Sullivan, Clayton. Rethinking Realized Eschatology. Mercer University Press, 1988.
R.H.H./M.A.P.
Esdraelon (ez′druh-ee′luhn; Gk. for “Jezreel”). See Jezreel.
Esdras (ez′druhs), First Book of, an alternative version of 2 Chron. 35:1–36:23, all of Ezra, and Neh. 7:38–8:12. It was included in the LXX and is regarded as canonical scripture by Greek Orthodox and Slavonic Orthodox churches, but is not among the books considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics, nor is it listed as part of the Apocrypha by Protestant Christians. It is actually called 2 Esdras in the Slavonic Bible (where the book otherwise known as Ezra is called 1 Esdras). It was also called 3 Ezra in the Vulgate (where Ezra is listed as 1 Ezra and Nehemiah as 2 Ezra). Since the sixteenth century, Roman Catholics have sometimes included 1 Esdras (along with 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh) in an appendix following the NT.
The work is either the remnant of a Greek translation of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah or a selection of parts of those books that were edited and translated into Greek sometime late in the second century BCE. The translation reflects greater freedom than is evident in the individual Greek translations of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah that appear in the LXX. Along with the Additions to Esther and the Additions to Daniel, the existence of 1 Esdras suggests that the format and content of some late biblical books were still in flux during the second and first centuries BCE.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
1 Esdras
I. Josiah’s Passover and the account of his death (1:1–33; cf. 2 Chron. 35:1–27)
II. The fall of Jerusalem (1:34–58; cf. 2 Chron. 36:1–21)
III. Cyrus the Great’s edict permitting Jews to return and restore the temple (2:1–30; cf. Ezra 1:1–11; 4:7–24)
IV. The contest of the three bodyguards in the court of Darius (3:1–5:6)
V. Lists of the exiles returning under Zerubbabel and their efforts to reconstruct the temple (5:7–73; cf. Ezra 2:1–70; 3:1–5:5)
VI. The completion of the temple under Haggai and Zechariah (6:1–7:15; cf. Ezra 4:24–6:22)
VII. Ezra’s reforms (8:1–9:55; cf. Ezra 7:1–10:44; Neh. 7:73–8:12)
| VARIANT DESIGNATIONS FOR EZRA, NEHEMIAH, 1 ESDRAS, AND 2 ESDRAS | |||
| Contemporary English Nomenclature | Greek Orthodox Tradition (LXX) | Latin Tradition (Vulgate) | Slavonic Orthodox Tradition |
| Ezra | 2 Esdras | 1 Ezra | 1 Esdras |
| Nehemiah | 2 Esdras | 2 Ezra | Nehemiah |
| 1 Esdras | 1 Esdras | 3 Ezra | 2 Esdras |
| 2 Esdras | (not included) | 4 Ezra* | 3 Esdras |
| * Note: 4 Ezra is sometimes used for chaps. 3–14 only; then chaps. 1–2 are called 5 Ezra, and chaps. 15–16 are called 6 Ezra. | |||
The purpose of 1 Esdras is not certain, although concentration on the temple, its worship, and leaders who reformed or restored its worship suggests that it may have been intended to make a statement of some sort concerning the temple or its leadership. The book begins with the Passover celebrated at the culmination of Josiah’s reform of the temple (ca. 622 BCE), then moves swiftly to the restoration of the temple and its worship under Jeshua and Zerubbabel (516 BCE), and concludes with Ezra’s reform a generation or so later. It builds up the role of Zerubbabel at the expense of Sheshbazzar, the leader of the first group of returned exiles in 538 BCE, and minimizes that of Nehemiah in relation to Ezra, whom it calls the “high priest” (9:40, 49). It also contains a unique, fanciful account of three bodyguards in the court of Darius (3:1–5:6), an account told in order to honor the wisdom of Zerubbabel and to explain how Darius came to commission him to return to Jerusalem and restore the temple. The history of the restoration given by 1 Esdras appears to be somewhat confused, but the first-century CE Jewish historian Josephus used this book as his primary source for the period when he wrote his Antiquities. See also Apocrypha/deuterocanonical literature; exile; Josephus; Septuagint; temple, the.
D.W.S.
Esdras, Second Book of, a Jewish apocalypse dating from the very end of the first century CE. It is regarded as canonical scripture by the Slavonic Orthodox church, where it is referred to as 3 Esdras (since in the Slavonic church “1 Esdras” is used for the book of Ezra, and “2 Esdras” is used for what is more often called 1 Esdras). It is called 4 Ezra in the Vulgate (where Ezra is listed as 1 Ezra, Nehemiah as 2 Ezra, and 1 Esdras as 3 Ezra). Furthermore, since it is now widely recognized that chaps. 1–2 and 15–16 represent Christian additions to the original book, they are sometimes called 5 Ezra and 6 Ezra, respectively, and the term 4 Ezra is reserved for chaps. 3–14 only. Second Esdras is not one of the books considered deuterocanonical by Roman Catholics, nor is it listed as part of the Apocrypha for Protestant Christians. Since the sixteenth century, however, Roman Catholics have sometimes included 2 Esdras (along with 1 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh) in an appendix following the NT. The book was probably written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek, but neither Hebrew nor Greek manuscripts have survived. The only extant copies of 2 Esdras from antiquity are translations made from the Greek, including Latin, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Armenian versions.
The material in 2 Esdras was written under the pseudonym of Ezra in order to use the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians as a means of reflecting upon the intense suffering occasioned by the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 CE. The apocalypse in chaps. 3–14 is divided into seven visions, some of which contain dialogues between Ezra and the angel Uriel concerning God’s justice in permitting the chosen people to suffer at the hands of the unrighteous Babylonians (i.e., the Romans). Other visions deal allegorically with history, the sufferings of the present, and the coming of the messianic age. They are somewhat similar to the visions of Revelation. The seventh vision, chap. 14, parallels Ezra to Moses and has Ezra dictate while in a trance the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible lost in the burning of Jerusalem. The book thus reflects a particular definition of the canon of scripture, which implicitly treats Moses and Ezra as the beginning and end of revelation.
Although chaps. 3–14 ultimately conclude that the mysteries of sin and suffering are unfathomable, they do develop a theology of history that claims that the whole of the human race from Adam on is sinful, subject to the evil inclination, and therefore deserving God’s punishment. After the fashion of the wisdom tradition, various analogies are drawn from nature and human life to deal with the limits of human knowledge and to justify the suffering of the righteous and God’s slow pace in setting things right. The goal of history is a four-hundred-year messianic age, following which the messiah will die and all things will be returned to a seven-day primeval silence. Then will come the resurrection and Last Judgment. The sixth vision of the man from the sea in chap. 13 is remarkable in that it is based on Dan. 7:13–14 and thus plays an important role in scholarly discussions of the christological title “Son of Man” in the NT. See also apocalyptic literature; Apocrypha/deuterocanonical literature; eschatology; messiah; pseudonym; son of man, Son of Man.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
2 Esdras
I. An apocalypse of Christian composition concerned with the rejection of Israel and the announcement of the rewards of the coming kingdom to all of the nations (chaps. 1–2)
II. A Jewish apocalypse consisting of seven visions (chaps. 3–14)
A. Vision 1: a dialogue between Ezra and Uriel concerning God’s justice and the seed of evil sown in Adam (3:1–5:20)
B. Vision 2: a dialogue concerning the mystery of God’s choice of Israel in light of the people’s subsequent suffering (5:21–6:34)
C. Vision 3: a dialogue concerning creation, the messianic age, and the subsequent judgment (6:35–9:25)
D. Vision 4: Ezra encounters Zion as a woman mourning for her dead son (9:26–10:59)
E. Vision 5: an allegorical vision of an eagle (cf. Dan. 7:3–8), representing the Roman Empire (chaps. 11–12)
F. Vision 6: an allegorical vision of a man from the sea (chap. 13; cf. Dan. 7:13–14)
G.Vision 7: the legend of Ezra and the restoration of the scriptures (chap. 14)
III. An apocalypse of Christian origin describing the tribulations of the end of history (chaps. 15–16)
D.W.S.
Esh-baal. See Ishbaal.
Eshcol (esh′kol; Heb., “cluster”).
1 The name of the valley near Hebron, in south-central Judea, from which spies sent by Moses brought back a cluster of grapes and some pomegranates and figs (Num. 13:23–24). Although this fruit indicated a good land, their report of giants discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land (Num. 32:9).
2 The brother of Mamre and Aner, Amorite allies of Abram, who helped him rescue Lot when Lot was taken captive by a coalition of eastern kings (Gen. 14:13, 24). See also Mamre.
Eshtaol (esh′tay-uhl), a city in the lowlands of Judah counted as belonging to both Judah and Dan (Josh. 15:33; 19:41). It was originally occupied by Danites (Judg. 13:25; 18:2–11) and then later occupied by Judahites when the Danites were forced to move to the north (Judg. 18:11). Evidence of this is seen in 1 Chron. 2:53, where Eshtaolites are regarded as descendants of Judah. It is also possible that the camp of Dan at Kiriath-jearim (Judg. 18:12) led to a mixing of the two tribes in this region. Eshtaol is tentatively located near modern Ishwa, about fourteen miles west of Jerusalem and about six miles slightly southwest of Kiriath-jearim.
D.R.B.
Eshtemoa (esh′tuh-moh′uh).
1 A city in the hill country of Judah that was given to the Levites (Josh. 21:14). David shared his booty with the city following his defeat of the Amalekites (1 Sam. 30:28). It is also called Eshtemoh (Josh. 15:50) and is tentatively identified as modern es-Samu, about ten miles south and slightly east of Hebron.
2 A son of Ishbah, descendant of Simeon (1 Chron. 4:17). It is not clear whether Eshtemoa the Maacathite (4:19) is the same person or of a different family.
Essenes (es′eenz), a sect of Judaism from the middle of the second century BCE until the war with Rome in 66–70 CE. They are described by the first-century CE authors Josephus and Philo and mentioned by some non-Jewish writers. They are usually identified with the inhabitants of Qumran who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. The meaning of the Greek name “Essenes” is unclear; it may come from the Aramaic for “pious” or “healers.”
Archaeological research at Qumran, data from ancient sources, and cryptic allusions to the sect’s history in its writings suggest that the group, whose members were probably some of the Hasideans who supported the Maccabees, withdrew from Jerusalem and active participation in the temple, because Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, assumed the high-priesthood in 152 BCE, though he was not from the correct, hereditary priestly family. The group was led by a prominent priest whose identity is hidden behind the designation “Teacher of Righteousness.” The community built a complex of buildings on the cliffs around the Dead Sea at Qumran, between Jericho and En-gedi, and went through several stages of development there, including a refounding of the community after an earthquake in 31 BCE. The community was persecuted and attacked by Jonathan and survived other pressures, but was finally destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE. Some Essenes also lived in towns and cities, probably in small communities, and a few are mentioned by name in Josephus’s works as playing a political role.
The Qumran community was sharply divided into hereditary priests and nonpriests. They were ruled by an elaborate hierarchy of officers and councils and guided by a detailed set of rules based on biblical law. Numerous practices were peculiar to this sect. Property was held in common, celibacy was practiced, a high state of ritual purity was maintained, economic and social relations with nonmembers were greatly restricted, and admission to full membership was preceded by three years’ probation. Solemn ritual meals were held regularly, participation in the ritual of the Jerusalem temple was forbidden for as long as the temple was improperly run, and detailed rules of behavior supported a rigorous ethic that was sanctioned by judges and punishments, including excommunication. The Essenes who lived outside the Qumran community seem to have married, had private property, and engaged in some social relations with outsiders.
Besides some biblical books and Jewish pseudepigraphical writings, the Essenes had their own biblical commentaries, hymns, rules, and apocalyptic writings. Though Josephus compares them to the Greco-Roman Stoics, the Essenes were apocalyptic in their thought and orientation, maintaining ritual purity, ethical probity, and spiritual readiness for the intervention of God to destroy evil. No convincing evidence has been produced to demonstrate any dependence on Essene thought by John the Baptist, Jesus, or other early Christian leaders. The similarities that exist are more likely due to their common Jewish background than to any direct relationship. See also Dead Sea Scrolls; Qumran, Khirbet.
Bibliography
Vermes, Geza. The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective. Collins, 1977.
———. The Dead Sea Scrolls in English. 2nd ed. Penguin, 1975.
A.J.S.
Esther, Additions to, five passages found in the LXX version of Esther, but not in the original Hebrew. Jerome, in making his Vulgate translation of Esther, removed all but one of these passages and placed them at the end of the book, so that chapter and verse numbers in modern editions treat them as though they were an ending to Esther.
The purpose of the additions is to give a more specifically religious cast to the book as well as to the festival of Purim associated with it. Since the Hebrew version of Esther never mentions God, its canonical status among Jews was sometimes a matter of dispute. The additions attribute the deliverance to God through the device of the apocalyptic vision and its interpretation, which now begin and end the book, as well as through the composition of prayers for Mordecai and Esther. Salvation now comes not as a consequence of Esther’s courage and beauty, but as a result of her piety, in order to show that God answers prayer and protects God’s people. The vision draws upon the genre of the apocalypse current in the Hellenistic age to suggest that God is in control of history. The two decrees of Artaxerxes may have been composed in Greek with the intention of adding authenticity to the story, but the other passages were probably written first in Hebrew. Along with 1 Esdras and the Additions to Daniel, the Additions to Esther suggests the fluidity of the biblical text within the Hellenistic era. The colophon of the Greek version attributes translation of the book to a certain Lysimachus, apparently a Hellenistic Jew, and suggests that it was brought to Egypt in the fourth year of Ptolemy and Cleopatra (either 114 BCE, 77 BCE, or 44 BCE, depending upon which royal pair is intended), possibly in an effort to introduce Purim to the Alexandrian Jewish community. The Additions to Esther is treated as a part of the Apocrypha by Protestant Christians, but is regarded as deuterocanonical by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians. See also Apocrypha/deuterocanonical literature; Daniel, Additions to; Esdras, First Book of; Esther, book of; Purim, Festival of.
D.W.S.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Additions to Esther
The following outline shows the way in which the LXX intersperses the additions (in italic below) with the original text of the book. The LXX also embellishes the passages it translates from the Hebrew version, adding references to God and altering the plot at several points.
I. Mordecai’s dream (11:2–12:6)
A. An apocalyptic vision (11:2–12)
B. Mordecai foils a plot against the king (12:1–6)
II. Esther 1:1–3:13 (the beginning of the Hebrew version)
III. Artaxerxes’s decree enjoining the persecution of the Jews (13:1–7)
IV. Esther 3:14–4:17 (part of the Hebrew version)
V. The prayers of Mordecai and Esther (13:8–15:16)
A. Mordecai’s prayer (13:8–18)
B. Esther’s prayer (14:1–19)
C. Esther appears before the king (15:1–16; replaces 5:1–2 in the Hebrew version)
VI. Esther 5:3–8:12 (part of the Hebrew version)
VII. Artaxerxes’s decree rescinding the persecution (16:1–24)
VIII. Esther 8:13–10:3 (the ending of the Hebrew version)
IX. Mordecai’s dream interpreted (10:4–11:1)
A. The apocalyptic vision explained with reference to the story of Esther (10:4–13)
B. The colophon (11:1)
Esther, book of, the last of the Five Scrolls, or Megilloth, found in the Writings section, or Ketuvim, of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible). Each of the Five Scrolls is connected with a different holiday or commemoration in the Jewish calendar. Esther is associated with Purim, a festival of freedom, where Jews celebrate a time when they were scattered across the world and yet were respected and allowed to defend their way of life. The Christian OT places Esther at the end of the historical books, after Ezra and Nehemiah.
Contents: The story of Esther revolves around four central characters: Esther (whose Jewish name was Hadassah), Mordecai, King Ahasuerus, and Haman. As the tale begins, the king throws a lavish party at which he summons his wife, Queen Vashti, to come before him and a myriad of drunk men, wearing her crown. There have been various arguments about whether she was called to wear only her crown. The queen regards this request to appear before the drunken mass (clothed or not) as damaging to her honor. She refuses, and this slight enrages the king. He dethrones Vashti and proceeds to hold a contest for the next queen. A young Jewish orphan named Esther wins and becomes queen, but she hides her Jewish identity from the court. Shortly after becoming queen, her cousin and guardian Mordecai discovers a plot to assassinate King Ahasuerus, which Esther reports to the king.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Esther
I. Palace intrigue in Susa (1:1–2:23)
A. The splendor of the court of Ahasuerus (1:1–9)
B. The removal of Queen Vashti (1:10–22)
C. Esther made queen (2:1–18)
D. Mordecai discovers a plot to kill Ahasuerus (2:19–23)
II. Struggle between Mordecai and Haman (3:1–9:19)
A. Haman plots to eliminate the Jews (3:1–15)
B. Mordecai appeals to Esther for help (4:1–17)
C. Esther intervenes (5:1–14)
D. Haman is humbled and Mordecai exalted (6:1–13)
E. Haman’s plot is exposed (7:1–10)
F. Victory of the Jews (8:1–9:19)
III. The festival of Purim (9:20–10:3)
Haman becomes second-in-command of Persia, but is angered when Mordecai refuses to bow before him. Haman then plots to kill not only Mordecai, but all of the Jews. Mordecai learns of this plot and calls upon Esther to appeal to the king to save her people. Esther hesitates because of the danger of coming before the king without being summoned, but is eventually persuaded to do so. She enters, receives an audience, and invites the king to come to a dinner party, where she will tell him her true request. Before the party, Haman is further enraged by Mordecai’s lack of deference and has a gallows built in order to hang him. That night, the king is reading through the annals, discovers that Mordecai has gone unrewarded for thwarting the assassination plot, and asks Haman how the king should reward a faithful citizen. Haman, thinking it is he who will receive this honor, talks of a royal procession with elegant robes and a kingly horse. The king then instructs Haman to provide these for Mordecai.
At the party, Esther pleads for the Jewish people, getting the unwitting king to allow her to draft a law to protect her people. When the king steps out for a moment, Haman falls upon the queen’s couch to beg for his life and safety. When the king returns, he believes that Haman is making advances toward the queen and has him hanged on the very gallows Haman had made for Mordecai. Esther drafts a bill allowing the Jewish people to protect themselves in case of attack. Then the Jews kill hundreds of their enemies in Susa and thousands throughout the empire.
Background: The book of Esther is set in the Jewish Dispersion during the Achaemenid period of the Persian Empire. The king Ahasuerus is known to historians as Xerxes I (486–465 BCE). The story takes place in the Persian royal courts, fitting within the “court tale” subgenre of the Jewish short story (see Dan. 1–6 and the story of Joseph in Gen. 37–50 for other examples). More specifically, it is often read as a comedy.
Although the story takes place within a historical setting, most scholars argue that it is not a historical narrative. Certain elements, in particular, betray what might be regarded as literary fictions. For example, Mordecai is named as having come over in the exile from Israel, but this would make him well over one hundred years old, given the temporal setting of the story. The extravagant 180-day banquets, the one-year contest for the role of queen, and the excessive number of satraps and provinces mentioned likewise suggest that the narrative is not strictly historical in nature.
The origin of the story of Esther is ambiguous and may have a pagan prehistory. Mordecai could be a type of Marduk, the Persian high god. Esther’s name is linguistically connected to the name of Ishtar, a Persian goddess. Yet regardless of its origin, the book now has a historical and biblical setting. The biblical setting is manifest through the use of genealogies. Mordecai is a descendant of Benjamin through Kish (making him a descendant of Saul), and Haman is a descendant of Agag the Amalekite (see 1 Sam. 15). These identifications provide a particular backdrop for the story in biblical history, since Saul is reported to have failed to destroy Agag and the Amalekites as ordered by Samuel. Mordecai’s revenge is thus a partial fulfillment of what his ancestor Saul failed to do to Haman’s ancestors.
An anonymous book, Esther was most likely written in the eastern Dispersion of the third or fourth century BCE. Gottwald, however, argues that the book was written during the Maccabean period, since the Persians were famously tolerant toward the Jews, and the book of Esther shows an oppressive streak in the ruling authorities, which would have been more characteristic of Jewish life under the Hellenistic regimes.
Themes: The book of Esther is presented as an explanation for the celebration of Purim, which is essentially a festival of self-defense and freedom, core components of Jewish identity. The book cautions Jews not to forget their identity or to think they can be safe by assimilating to society. Survival and prosperity are obtained when Jews stick together. Esther is put forth as a model of faithful women in the history of Israel, because of her courage and devotion to her people.
The book is also full of ironic and dramatic reversals. Vashti, a Persian, is replaced by Esther, a Jew, as queen of Persia. Haman prides himself in his power and dislikes Mordecai’s lack of deference, yet it is Mordecai who ends with the power, while Haman is stripped of his power and his life. Although God is not mentioned in the book, many interpreters have read Esther as a book about God’s hidden providence. Mordecai’s statement that Esther was made queen for “just such a time as this” (4:14) has been seen as a subtle pointer to God’s providence. Also, Mordecai’s understanding that, if Esther fails, the Jewish people will find deliverance from “another quarter” (4:14) has been viewed as a reference to trust in God. Wyler argues that the book centers around Esther’s struggle with her dual identity as a Jew and as queen of Persia. Levenson argues that the book of Esther is a ten-chapter chiasm centered on chap. 6, with parallel events on either side (e.g., anti-Jewish edict in 3:12–15, pro-Jewish edict in 8:9–14). The issue of Esther’s Jewish identity is evident in the chiasm as well. She identifies herself as a Gentile by taking the role of the queen (2:10–20), and eventually Gentiles identify themselves as Jews at the end of the story (8:17). Furthermore, Beal holds that the book of Esther destabilizes ethnic and gender identity, allowing for constructive dialogue with the other.
Interpretive Issues: The major issue raised with regard to the book of Esther is its absence of any reference to God. Some interpreters have argued that this makes the book “secular,” while Levenson claims that the book’s content still shows evidence of providence, of God behind the scenes of history. Fox argues that though readers have claimed they experience Esther as “secular” or “religious,” the text itself does not give an explicit interpretation; it can be read either as a sign of God’s covenant faithfulness or of the resourcefulness of the Jewish people. Sweeney thinks that the absence of God is the very premise of the book of Esther, which claims that sometimes God does not act in the face of evil and humans must take responsibility for dealing with crises.
The violent ending to Esther has been the source of much controversy. The difficulty here lies in justifying the violence that the Jews perpetrate against their enemies at the end of the book. Levenson claims that the focus of the passage is not on the slaughter, but on the honor and status the Jews receive within the empire. Some have argued that Esther demonstrates the threats God’s people face when living in a hostile culture, but also demonstrates God’s providential deliverance of the people. Gottwald cites the violent ending in support of a Maccabean date for its composition.
Influences: The story of Esther has been memorialized and given life through the Jewish celebration of Purim. This festival continues to celebrate the gift of freedom and identity that Esther represents. The book of Esther is also the first recorded instance of a Gentile plot to exterminate the Jewish people.
In general, Esther has been appreciated for its humor and optimism. The exaggerated events and stock characters give the story a light-hearted feel, while the plot embodies enduring confidence that goodness will ultimately triumph over evil. This has given the book a broad appeal, despite its controversial ending.
Bibliography
Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 4th ed. Wadsworth, 2009.
Beal, Timothy K. The Book of Hiding: Gender, Ethnicity, Annihilation and Esther. Routledge, 1997.
Brenner, Athalya, ed. Ruth and Esther: A Feminist Companion to the Bible. Sheffield, 1999.
Fox, Michael V. Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther. Eerdmans, 2001.
Gottwald, Norman K. The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction. Fortress, 1985.
Levenson, Jon D. Esther: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox, 1997.
Sweeney, Marvin A. “Absence of G-d and Human Responsibility in the Book of Esther.” In Reading the Hebrew Bible for a New Millennium: Form, Concept, and Theological Perspective. Vol. 2. Exegetical and Theological Studies. Trinity, 2000. Pp. 264–75.
Wyler, Bea. “Esther: The Incomplete Emancipation of a Queen.” In A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and Susanna. Sheffield, 1995. Pp. 111–36.
B.B.
Etam (ee′tuhm).
1 The place where Samson defeated the Philistines and was subsequently delivered to them by the people of Judah (Judg. 15:8, 11).
2 A village in the territory of Simeon (1 Chron. 4:32), possibly identified with 3.
3 A city near Bethlehem fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:6).
4 The Israelites’ first desert stop before turning back after they had left Succoth (Exod. 13:20). It was located on the edge of the wilderness (Num. 33:6).
eternal life. The idea of an afterlife or of eternal life is not clearly attested in Jewish literature prior to the exile, and its development thereafter is sometimes attributed to contact with Persian doctrines. The first clear biblical reference to an afterlife is found in Dan. 12:2, which announces: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Most scholars believe this passage was written ca. 175 BCE and, so, was intended to proclaim God’s vindication of martyrs who had been victims of the persecutions of Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus had ordered Jews to give up their ancestral faith or face death. The same historical background illuminates 2 Macc. 7, where seven brothers die in defense of the Torah, confident that “the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws” (7:9). The Wisdom of Solomon, another Hellenistic Jewish book from the Second Temple period, speaks not of resurrection from death, but of the immortality of the soul by which humankind survives after death (3:4); according to this book, the wicked seem to vanish at death, while “the righteous live forever” (5:15).
The notion of life after death, however, does not appear to have been accepted by all Jews in the Second Temple period. In describing the Sadducees and the Pharisees, the Jewish historian Josephus contrasts their views on postmortem existence: the Pharisees believe in “an immortal soul” and so in an afterlife where God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, but the Sadducees do not believe in the afterlife—God does not reward or punish and certainly not in an afterlife (Jewish War 2.162–66; Antiquities 18.11–22). Acts 23:6–9 likewise records a dispute between Sadducees and Pharisees over the resurrection. In Mark 12:18–27, Jesus tells the Sadducees that they are “quite wrong” in saying “there is no resurrection,” because the God of Israel is “not God of the dead but of the living.”
Afterlife and eternal life become an essential part of Christian preaching in virtue of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. That event, according to Paul, broke the dominion of death, making eternal life available to all through God’s grace (Rom. 5:12–21). The Gospel of John describes eternal life as a phenomenon that has already begun for those who have received Jesus Christ and become children of God (3:36; 5:24; cf. 1:12). See also death; eschatology; immortality; resurrection; soul.
Bibliography
Nickesburg, George W. E. Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism. Harvard University Press, 1972.
Stendahl, Krister. Immortality and Resurrection. Macmillan, 1965.
J.H.N./M.A.P.
Etham (ee′thuhm), the first stopping place after Succoth used by the Israelite exodus in their escape from Egypt. Its location is not known, but it is said to be “on the edge of the wilderness” (Exod. 13:20; Num. 33:6) and is called an area of wilderness in or near which are located Pi-hahiroth and Baal-zephon (Num. 33:7–8). Recent suggestions include its identity as Pithom, possibly in the Wadi Tumilat lying between the eastern Nile Delta and the Sinai wilderness.
Ethan (ee′thuhn; Heb., “enduring,” hence “long-lived”).
1 A wise “Ezrahite” (meaning uncertain) credited with Ps. 89 (see 1 Kings 4:31).
2 Grandson of Judah and Tamar through the line of Perez (1 Chron. 2:6–8).
3 A levitical musician from the Merarites in the time of David, possibly to be identified with Jeduthun (1 Chron. 15:17, 19; see 16:41–42; 25:1–2).
4 A levitical attendant from the line of Gershom (1 Chron. 6:42).
Ethanim. See calendar; Tishri.
ethics, moral conduct according to principles of what is good or right to do. Ethical concerns occupy a central position throughout the Bible with respect to the actions of individuals as well as the whole community. At points, they are presented in terms of general and absolute norms (as in the Ten Commandments), and in other places they must be discerned in the actions of people and the customs of the society.
In the Hebrew Bible: The people of Israel faced a full range of moral problems related to various spheres. Israelite society was structured on a patriarchal base, with primary power vested in the male as head of the household. This colored marital and familial morality, as is often evident in laws and stories. A woman’s legal rights were restricted in areas of ownership, inheritance (Num. 27:1–11), and oath taking (Num. 30); essentially every female was under the protection and authority of some male, first her father and then later her husband. Divorce laws, accordingly, required that a “bill of divorce” be issued, allowing the woman to marry again (Deut. 24:1). Children were also under the authority of their parents, especially the father. A harsh law proscribing death for a stubborn child is mentioned in Deut. 21:18–21 (see also Exod. 21:15, 17), although there is no evidence that such a penalty was ever enforced.
Regulation of sexual conduct in the Hebrew Bible is also affected by the patriarchal nature of Israelite society. Polygyny and concubinage were allowed, and prostitutes appear to have been stigmatized more negatively than the men who went to them (e.g., Gen. 38:12–26). Adultery, which refers to intercourse between a married or betrothed woman and any man who is not her husband or her betrothed, is strictly prohibited and hypothetically punishable by death (Deut. 22:20–27), though, again, there is no mention of this penalty ever being carried out (even in John 8:1–11, the adulterous woman is presented as a test case for a question of legal interpretation, not necessarily as a potential victim of an actual stoning about to occur). All negative and restrictive mandates concerning sexual behavior, furthermore, are presented in light of a fundamentally positive evaluation of human sexuality: Gen. 2:24–25 declares the intimate bond between a husband and wife as fundamentally appropriate and good.
Individuals as well as society were expected to act justly, promoting proper relationships within the community (Mic. 6:8; Ps. 112; Job 31). God’s release of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt often serves as the basis for other efforts to overcome oppression and exploitation within the Israelite society. The Bible recognizes that there are persons who are especially vulnerable and defenseless in society, such as the poor, widows, orphans, slaves, and strangers; and protecting them is not just a moral requirement, but also a religious duty as a reflection of God’s demand. The problem of social justice became a special focus in the eighth century BCE when prophets like Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were quick to criticize the wealthy who had no regard for the plight of those suffering economically.
In general, then, the ethics of the Hebrew Bible are geared toward creating and maintaining right relationships—in the family, in the larger society, in business dealings, in government, and in other arenas. The covenant between God and Israel becomes a symbol of proper relations among humans, and because of the covenant, God can command the people to live obediently and responsibly. Thus, to take one example, the book of Hosea is able to apply the marriage bond metaphorically to the relationship between God and Israel, because marriage—like all human relationships—is assumed to be reflective of God’s relationship with Israel. The covenant faithfulness/loving-kindness of God (expressed in the Hebrew word khesed) provides the foundation for construction of an ethical system that defines just and unjust behavior in terms of relationships that are to be expressive of love (for God, Deut. 6:5; neighbor, Lev. 19:18; stranger, Deut. 10:19; and alien, Lev. 19:34).
In the NT: In preaching the advent of God’s kingdom, Jesus underscores both the possibility and the necessity of repentance (Mark 1:14–15). Thus, future hope becomes a motivation for acting mercifully and responsibly in the present. At points it may seem that Jesus is thinking mostly about the future: he makes moral acts a strict requirement for admission to the kingdom (e.g., Matt. 25:31–46; Mark 10:24–25), threatens persons with the final judgment (Matt. 5:22; Mark 9:42–48; 12:40), and promises final rewards to those who act rightly (Matt. 6:19–21; Mark 10:21). It is clear, however, that one’s primary motivation for morality should be the desire to live in conformity to God’s standards, not simply to obtain eternal life or heavenly rewards (e.g., Matt. 5:45, 48). According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’s view of the law of Moses was generally positive and, indeed, he often interpreted that law in terms that would intensify its demands (cf. his teachings on murder, adultery, divorce, oath taking, and retaliation in 5:21–42). Jesus’s ethical interpretations of the law are grounded in a belief that the twofold love commandment—to love God and to love one’s neighbor (Mark 12:29–31; from Deut. 6:4–5; Lev. 19:18)—expresses God’s will in a fundamental, definitive sense. With this as the primary principle Jesus proceeds to indicate concrete ways in which love should affect moral behavior: affirming marriage and discouraging divorce (Mark 10:2–9), using wealth to benefit the poor (Luke 19:8), caring for anyone in need (Luke 10:29–37), avoiding violence (Matt. 26:52), and living a life of service (Luke 22:26–27).
For Paul, ethics are presented in terms of human response to the death and resurrection of Christ. Simply put, those who experience God’s salvation through Christ are not to live for themselves, but for Christ, who died and was raised for them (2 Cor. 5:14–15), and “the only thing that counts is faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). Paul devotes generous portions of his letters to instruction on moral and behavioral matters (e.g., Rom. 14:5–6; 1 Cor. 8:1–13; 12:1–14:40) and lists both virtues to be pursued and vices to be avoided (Rom. 1:29–31; 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:10–11; 6:9–10; 2 Cor. 6:6–7; Gal. 5:19–23). A question arises, however, as to how Paul determines what sort of behavior is appropriate for those who are now in Christ. His ethical positions are clearly informed by the Hebrew Bible—the moral commandments of Torah (1 Cor. 7:19)—but Paul also claims that Christians are no longer “under the law” (Rom. 6:14–15; 1 Cor. 9:20; Gal. 3:23–25). In a few instances, he makes reference to a human “conscience” that may serve as a moral guide (Rom. 2:15; 2 Cor. 1:12; 4:2), but this cannot be absolute, since conscience can be weak and is easily defiled (1 Cor. 8:7–12; 10:25–29).
Ultimately, Paul’s ethics are shaped by the expectation that believers will imitate Christ with regard to sacrificial humility: they will seek the good of others rather than what is pleasing or beneficial to themselves (Rom. 15:1–3; Phil. 2:4–8). Thus, for Paul, the cross becomes the emblem, not only of Christian salvation, but also of Christian conduct. Furthermore, for Paul, all ethics are community ethics, for the individual believer is united spiritually with others in such a way that all individual actions have consequences for others (1 Cor. 12:11–26). Paul’s ethics are also shaped by an expectation that Christ is coming soon and that the time remaining to do what must be accomplished in this world is short (Rom. 13:11–14; 1 Cor. 7:29–31; 1 Thess. 4:13–5:11). And, finally, Paul is certain that believers have divine assistance in living as God would have them live; they are transformed from within, by a renewing of their minds (Rom. 12:1; cf. 2 Cor. 5:17), and they are imbued with the Holy Spirit, who produces in them the fruit that is pleasing to God (Gal. 5:22–23).
Bibliography
Harrelson, Walter. The Ten Commandments and Human Rights. Fortress, 1980.
Hays, Richard B. The Moral Vision of the New Testament. HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.
Matera, Frank J. New Testament Ethics: The Legacies of Jesus and Paul. Westminster John Knox, 1996.
Zimmerli, Walther. The Old Testament and the World. John Knox, 1976.
D.A.K./M.A.P.
Ethiopia (ee′thee-oh′pee-uh; Heb. Cush; Gk. Aithiopia) or Nubia, the ancient name of the Nile Valley region between the first and second cataracts south of Aswan, roughly equivalent with modern Sudan. In Homer’s Odyssey (sixth century BCE), Ethiopia appears to cover a vast area, including parts of modern Saudi Arabia and Yemen (cf. Odyssey 1.22–23), but by the time of Herodotus (fifth century BCE), the territory was more restricted to the area south of Egypt bordering the Red Sea. In any case, the biblical area called Ethiopia should not be confused with the modern nation of Ethiopia. Sometimes, furthermore, the term “Ethiopian” is used as a generic label for Africans or people with dark skin (Jer. 13:23). This might be the case with any number of Ethiopians mentioned in the Bible: Zipporah, the wife of Moses (Num. 12:1; NRSV: “Cushite”); Cushi, an unfortunate messenger with the Israelite army (2 Sam. 18:21–23; 31–32 NRSV: “Cushite”); and Ebed-melech, the eunuch who rescued Jeremiah from a cistern (Jer. 38:7).
The history of Ethiopia/Nubia is caught up with that of Egypt, its closest neighbor. Egypt appears to have exercised control over Ethiopia/Nubia for about two hundred years ca. 1971–1786 BCE, but then the Egyptian influence waned for at least a couple of centuries. After expelling the Hyksos invaders (ca. 1550), the Egyptians once more gained control but, during the time of the Israelite monarchy, Ethiopia/Nubia became an independent kingdom. Thus, 2 Chron. 14:9–15 reports King Asa of Judah defeating an Ethiopian army in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. Then, for a short period (ca. 715–664 BCE), Ethiopia/Nubia actually gained the upper hand in northeast Africa and dominated Egypt. This period was known as the Twenty-Fifth Ethiopian Dynasty, and the best-known ruler of that dynasty was Tirhakah (690–664 BCE), who appears in both Assyrian and Judean records (Isa. 37:9) as the ally of Hezekiah, despite protestations from the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isa. 18:1–2; 20:1–6). Egypt fell to the Assyrians in 670, but Egypt/Nubia remained independent until it became part of the Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE. After the eventual demise of that empire, Ethiopia remained an independent, but diminished, power with its capital in Meroe. The head of the government was known as “the Candace.” In Acts 8:26–40 Philip the evangelist baptizes an “Ethiopian eunuch” who was a high official in the court of the Candace.
In the Bible, Cush, the son of Ham, is identified as the father of the Ethiopians. The nation or region of Ethiopia is mentioned numerous times, often in connection with Egypt (e.g., Ps. 68:31; Isa. 20:3–5; Ezek. 30:4). Other texts mention Ethiopia in conjunction with Libya, its neighbor to the west (2 Chron. 16:8; Ezek. 38:5), and some mention all three countries (Ezek. 30:5; Dan. 11:43; Nah. 3). The “rivers of Ethiopia” mentioned in Isa. 18:1 and Zeph. 3:10 are probably the Blue Nile and the White Nile—at the height of Ethiopia’s power in the seventh century BCE, its borders seem to have extended to the conjunction of those rivers at Khartoum. Ethiopia is noted for chrysolite in Job 28:19, for “merchandise” in Isa. 45:14, and for “riches” in Dan. 11:43. Several prophets proclaim oracles of doom or destruction against Ethiopia, noting its arrogance or attempts to obstruct God’s plans for Israel (Isa. 20:3–4; Ezek. 30:4, 5, 9; 38:5; Zeph. 2:12). See also Candace, the; Gihon; Hezekiah; Philip.
D.B./M.A.P.
ethnarch (eth′nahrk; Gk., “leader/ruler of a people”), a title for a political ruler used during the Hasmonean and Roman periods. The exact meaning remains unclear, but it occurs only in 1 Maccabees, where it is applied to Simon Maccabeus (14:47; 15:1–2). Perhaps it was a title given to rulers over their own people (e.g., the Jews), who nevertheless remained under the overall rule of a foreign power (e.g., Rome). Thus, an ethnarch would rank somewhat lower than a king. The Greek term is also used in 2 Cor. 11:32, where the NRSV and NIV translate it “governor.” See also governor; tetrarch.
Eubulus (yoo-byoo′luhs), a Christian who, according to 2 Tim. 4:21, was with Paul during one of Paul’s imprisonments. See also Claudia; Linus; Pudens.
Eucharist (yoo′kuh-rist). See Lord’s Supper.
Eunice (yoo′nis), Timothy’s mother, a Jewish Christian who was married to a Gentile (Acts 16:1). She and her mother, Lois, are said to have evinced a “sincere faith” and to have provided Timothy with religious instruction (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14–15). See also Timothy.
eunuch, a male who lacks testicles, either because he was born that way or because he has been castrated (cf. Matt. 19:12). Eunuchs were in demand as guards of royal harems. Consequently, most biblical references to eunuchs come from narratives about kings and their courts. Although excluded from the sacred assembly (Deut. 23:1), eunuchs often received favorable report: Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian eunuch who rescued Jeremiah from a cistern (Jer. 38:7); much later, in the book of Acts, another Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by Philip the evangelist (8:26–40). Becoming a eunuch for religious reasons is mentioned in Matt. 19:12, although the exact meaning of that verse is unclear. It could be a metaphorical expression for remaining celibate in order to serve God more effectively (cf. 1 Cor. 7:32–34). See also Candace, the; Philip.
Euodia (yoo-oh′dee-uh), a woman in the church at Philippi who was urged by Paul to settle her dispute with Syntyche (Phil. 4:2). See also Syntyche.
Euphrates (yoo-fray′teez) River, the largest river in western Asia. The headwaters of the Euphrates are two branches that originate in Armenia in eastern Turkey. The western branch (Kara Su) and the eastern branch (Murat Suyu) run westward from their sources and then join north of Malatiya, from which the course runs southeast and southwest into the Syrian plain. Main tributaries from the north are the Belikh and the Khabur. Continuing its southeastern course, the river divides just above Babylon. It reunites and then joins the Tigris for the last hundred miles before emptying into the Persian Gulf. The bed of the river ran somewhat higher than that of the Tigris, and this allowed ancient irrigation canals to carry Euphrates water across the land between the two rivers for agriculture and transport. The lower reaches provided some ten thousand square miles of land for such reclamation, allowing the foundations of cities and city-states in what we know as one of the earliest centers of civilization, Sumer. The Hellenistic city of Somasata was built near an important ford. Farther south, the Euphrates passed Carchemish, where Nebuchadnezzar decisively beat the Egyptian-Assyrian alliance in which Neco of Egypt participated (Jer. 46; 2 Kings 24:7). Still farther downstream were Dura-Europos, famous for a synagogue with Hellenistic painted scenes, and Mari, notable for its palace and library of texts.
In biblical tradition, the Euphrates was one of four rivers flowing from Eden (Gen. 2:14). Josh. 24:2 says that Israel’s ancestors came from “beyond the Euphrates.” After the exile, during the Persian period, Judah belonged to a Persian province called “Beyond the River” (Ezra 4:10–11; 5:3; 6:6; Neh. 2:7). The latter reference assumes a perspective opposite to that of Josh. 24:2. Whereas Joshua spoke of “beyond the Euphrates” from Israel’s perspective to mean an area east of the river, the Persians used the phrase “beyond the river” from their own perspective to mean an area west of the river (which included the territory that had once belonged to Israel). Most biblical references to the Euphrates, however, fall into one of two categories. First, the Euphrates (often called “the great river”) is listed as a boundary for the land that God promises Israel (e.g., Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; 11:24; Josh. 1:4); this promise appears to be fulfilled when the Euphrates serves as the northern boundary of Israelite territory under David (2 Sam. 8:3). Most of the time, however, this area was under Aramean control, so a second group of passages that mention the Euphrates do so in the context of oracles proclaiming judgment on Assyria or Babylon (e.g., Isa. 7:20; 27:12; Jer. 13:4–7; 46:2–10). It is probably the latter sense that determines references to the Euphrates in Revelation, where it is a site for apocalyptic terrors (9:14; 16:12). See also Damascus; Tigris River.
R.S.B./M.A.P.
Euroclydon (yoo-rok′li-don). See northeaster.
Eutychus (yoo′tuh-kuhs), a youth who dozed during a long discourse by Paul, fell from a third-story window, and was presumed dead; Paul intervened and the youth lived (Acts 20:7–12).
evangelist (Gk., “one who proclaims good news”). The noun “evangelist” occurs only three times in the NT (Acts 21:8; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5), though the idea of proclaiming the good news about God’s kingdom and about Jesus the Christ is found throughout the NT writings. The cognate verb “evangelize” (lit., “to proclaim good news”), is frequent, as is the related Greek noun euangelion, translated “gospel” or “good news.” In the earliest days of the church, the work of evangelism, i.e., proclaiming the Christian gospel, was carried out by the apostles and others (Philip is specifically labeled an evangelist in Acts 21:8). Later, as the church grew and spread and as time passed, “evangelist” came to designate a specific office (Eph. 4:11) or ministry (2 Tim. 4:11) within the church. By the third century, the authors of the four canonical Gospels had come to be known as “evangelists,” i.e., as people who had written “evangels,” accounts of good news. See also apostle; church; gospel; Gospels, the; Philip.
J.M.E.
Eve, the first woman, created by God (Gen. 2:21–22). Her name in Hebrew sounds similar to the Hebrew word “life,” an association that pertains in Gen. 3:20, where the primal woman is designated the “mother of all living.” In the Genesis creation story, Eve is created so that the man, Adam, will not be alone. Specifically, the man needed a partner who would “correspond” to him as his helper and his partner; thus, Eve was created from the man’s own rib rather than from the earth, as had been the case with the animals (and the man himself). The man calls her “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (2:23). The narrative explains that this provides the origin and rationale for marriage: a man leaves his father and mother and “clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” That expression has obvious sexual connotations, but it also conveys the sense of unity in a more general way (e.g., mutual loyalty) and, perhaps most important, a merging of family lines: each child born to a man and woman represents one new line of descent produced from two. Special attention is drawn to the nakedness of the couple and to their lack of shame at being naked (2:25).
As the narrative continues, Eve is tricked by the “crafty” serpent into eating forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:1–7). In part, she apparently believes that if she does so, she will not die, but will become like God, knowing good and evil (a possible figure of speech for “knowing all things”). She also wants to eat the fruit, however, because she sees that it is good for food and a delight to the eyes. After eating the fruit, she gives some to her husband, who the text says “was with her” (i.e., party to the exchange with the serpent, though silent throughout), and he eats as well. As a consequence of this disobedience, both Adam and Eve are suddenly ashamed of their nakedness, and they create garments of fig leaves for themselves. Then, God expels them from the garden and Eve is specifically punished in two ways: she (and apparently, though not explicitly, all women after her) will have to endure (1) increased pain in childbirth; and, (2) subordination to her husband, whom she will desire but who will rule over her (3:16). It is only at this point in the story that she receives the name “Eve” (having been called simply “the woman” up to now); this serves as notice that, as a mother, she will produce life (albeit painfully); notably, it is the man who names her (just as he had named the animals, 3:20; cf. 2:20). Eve gave birth to Cain, Abel, and Seth as well as other sons and daughters (4:1–2, 25; 5:4). According to one tradition, it is Eve who names the children: Gen. 4:1 says that she named Cain and 4:25 says she named Seth, though nothing similar is said of Abel and 5:3 indicates that it was Adam who named Seth.
Eve is not mentioned again in the Hebrew Bible, but in some of the Hellenistic Jewish literature of the Second Temple period she is referenced as the one who brought sin and death into the world: “From a woman, sin had its beginning, and because of her, we all die” (Sir. 25:24; cf. 2 Enoch 30:17; Apoc. Moses 7:1, 21). This understanding is also evident in the NT, where Eve is mentioned twice. Both 2 Cor. 11:3 and 1 Tim. 2:13–15 refer to her as a person who was “deceived,” and the latter text emphasizes that this distinguishes her from the man: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” This observation about who was deceived is intended to legitimate the position that women should “learn in silence” and not be permitted to have authority over men (2 Tim. 2:11–12). Elsewhere in Paul’s writings, the captivity of humanity to sin and to a dominion of death is attributed to Adam without mention of Eve (Rom. 5:12–21). Also, though Eve is not mentioned by name, she is referenced along with Adam in Jesus’s teaching on the permanence of marriage (Mark 10:6–9; cf. Gen. 2:24). See also Adam; fall, the.
M.A.P.
everlasting life. See eternal life.
evil, a term with several nuances of meaning (e.g., misfortune, corruption, wickedness) in the biblical writings. All forms of evil are typically regarded as stemming from the disobedience and rebellion of the human race against God and God’s will (e.g., Num. 32:13; Deut. 4:25; Judg. 2:11). Evil occurs wherever and whenever God’s will is hindered (cf. dozens of references to those who “do what is evil in the sight of the LORD,” e.g., 1 Kings 16:7, 19, 25, 30; 21:20, 25; 22:52). Bad situations or natural calamities can be referred to as “evil,” since such occurrences are typically interpreted as a consequence of human sin, if not a direct punishment for specific sin (e.g., Deut. 31:17; Ezra 9:13; Prov. 11:21; Jer. 26:19; Amos 3:6). It is only in this sense (evil as calamity as opposed to evil as immorality or wickedness) that God can be portrayed as the cause of evil. God is never presented as wicked or immoral in the Bible, but God does sometimes send evil upon people in the sense of causing misfortune to befall them (Deut. 28:20; 2 Sam. 24:16; Job 42:11; cf. 1 Kings 2:44; 14:10). It is also in this sense that God is sometimes said to send “an evil spirit” (a spirit that produces disease or calamity) upon someone (Judg. 9:23; 1 Sam. 14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). The idea that misfortune must always be interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure, however, is sometimes challenged (Job 30:26; Eccles. 7:15; John 9:1–3). God is also portrayed as delivering people from evil, a phrase that connotes deliverance from misfortune rather than deliverance from immorality or sin (Jer. 18:8; 26:3, 13, 19; Jon. 3:10; 4:2; cf. Matt. 6:13, “deliver us from evil” or, as in the NRSV, “rescue us from the evil one”).
In a broad sense, anything that is unfair or unfortunate can be understood as “evil,” including inevitable vicissitudes of life (e.g., Eccles. 6:1–3; cf. Luke 16:25). People can be “afflicted with evil” (Gen. 44:34; Prov. 15:15), and the world at large appears to be infected with evil (cf. Gal. 1:4) insofar as it is no longer the world that God declared “good” at creation (1:31). For example, the wild animals that God created as good (Gen. 1:25) would come to be viewed as evil (Lev. 26:6), and even the land itself had potential for being viewed as evil (Num. 13:10). If one asks what accounts for this state of affairs, there is no simple answer (i.e., in Hebrew thought, at least, the good world did not suddenly become evil when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, though some such doctrine of “the fall” is evident in the NT; cf. Rom. 5:12). Still, the “primeval history” narratives of Gen. 1–11 do reflect an overall notion of progressive and recurrent disobedience that moves humanity farther from God. There is a clear sense, then, that the world is not as God intended it to be; there is something wrong with the world, something for which God is not responsible, and this “something” can be termed “evil.”
Throughout the Bible, evil often has a moral dimension. Conduct is deemed evil when it violates God’s will (Ps. 34:13); such conduct includes evil acts (John 3:19), evil speech (James 3:8), and evil thoughts (Matt. 15:9). By extension, persons can be called evil (or “wicked”) if they do, say, or think evil things (1 Sam. 24:13; Prov. 11:21; Pss. 7:9; 28:3; Matt. 12:34). When evil is understood in this sense, it usually derives from within humanity; the human heart or will carries an intrinsic impulse toward evil (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; 1 Sam. 17:28; Prov. 6:14; Eccles. 8:11; Mark 7:20–23). The same point is made when evil is described as a consequence of human desire (e.g., 1 Tim. 6:10, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”). The avoidance of evil or repentance (turning from evil, cf. Amos 5:14–15) therefore calls for a deliberate rejection of such impulses: resisting temptation or choosing what is right over what is wrong (Pss. 34:14; 37:27).
Relatively late in the biblical tradition, evil came to be understood as a separate and pervasive power within the created order. According to this perspective, evil had a leader (e.g., Satan or the devil) who might be called “the evil one” (Matt. 13:19, 38; John 17:15; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 John 2:13–14). In its most developed form, this view ascribed underlings to the evil one, evil spirits (Luke 7:21; 8:2; Acts 19:11–16; cf. Eph. 6:12) or demons who could sometimes possess human beings and/or cause evil things to happen to them (e.g., Mark 5:1–13). This ideology often accompanies a dualistic worldview that sees people, groups, or nations as clearly “good” or “evil,” aligned with God or the devil (Matt. 7:17; 13:24–30, 36–43). Even then, however, God can be seen as transcendent in mercy (e.g., Matt. 5:45, blessing good and evil alike). Further, the power of God and of whatever is good will ultimately triumph over all that is evil (Heb. 2:14–15). See also demon; devil; fall, the; Satan; sin.
J.M.E./M.A.P.
Evil-merodach (ee′vuhl-mair′uh-dak), a Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) king (561–560 BCE) and the immediate successor of Nebuchadnezzar II. Evil-merodach released King Jehoiachin from imprisonment; the Judean king was given an allowance, and for the remainder of his life he dined at the Babylonian king’s table (2 Kings 25:27–30; Jer. 52:31–34). Evil-merodach may have been trying to modify his father’s policies; he was killed in a revolution organized by his brother-in-law Neriglissar.
evil spirits. See demon; devil.
ewe, a female sheep. In Gen. 21:28–30, Abraham gives Abimelech seven ewe lambs as part of a covenant at Beer-sheba. In Gen. 32:14, Jacob presents Esau with two hundred ewes in an effort to effect a reconciliation with a brother he has wronged and now fears. Lev. 14:10 prescribes the sacrifice of a ewe lamb as part of the cleansing ritual for a leper, and Num. 6:14 prescribes a similar sacrifice as a sin offering at the completion of a Nazirite’s consecration. Lev. 22:28 prohibits the Israelites from slaughtering a ewe and its lamb on the same day. In 2 Sam. 12:2–4, the prophet Nathan tells David a parable about a man who kept a ewe lamb as a pet. Ps. 78:71 describes David as one who tended nursing ewes before being called by God to shepherd the people of Israel. In the Song of Solomon, a lover’s teeth are described as being like a flock of ewes (4:2; 6:6).
M.A.P.
exile, a term synonymous with “captivity,” used to refer to the period in the sixth century BCE when the Judean population was removed to Babylonia. Deportation as a policy was practiced by various ancient powers. Assyria deported part of the population of the northern kingdom (Israel) in 722/1 BCE (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11 list places to which they were taken, but their subsequent history is unknown). Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish (701 BCE) also resulted in deportation of captives. Similar policies are attested for the Persians and for later Greek and Roman rulers. In biblical studies, however, the term “exile” usually refers to the deportation of Judeans by Babylon, which occurred in two or three stages. First, in 597 BCE, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported King Jehoiachin and his mother and wives, together with royal officials and the “elite of the land” (2 Kings 24:15–16). A second deportation followed in 587/6 BCE consisting of the “rest of the population” of Jerusalem, namely, Judeans who had deserted to the Babylonian side during the preceding conflict and others who had somehow survived Babylon’s conquest of the city and destruction of its walls and temple (2 Kings 25:11). Jer. 52:30 records a third deportation in 582 BCE. The number of the exiles are differently computed: Jer. 52:30 gives the total for all three deportations as 4,600; 2 Kings 25:14 has 10,000 for 597 BCE alone.
The biblical account provides little information about Judah or Jerusalem during the exilic age. Following the deportations, the Babylonians appointed a Judean notable, Gedaliah, to rule over the people who remained in their homeland (2 Kings 25:22–24). According to 2 Kings 24:14; 25:12, these consisted of only “some of the poorest of the land” left to tend crops (cf. Jer. 40:7). Jer. 41–44, however, implies that no population was left in Judah after Gedaliah’s death. In 2 Chron. 36:21, which takes up prophecies of total desolation (e.g., Jer. 7:34, cf. Lam. 1:3), a land emptied of population is also envisaged. Theologically, this point would be significant for sustaining the view that the eventual restoration of Judah came only from the exiles taken to Babylon (cf. Jer. 24:5–7; 29:4–14; Ezek. 11). This is generally the view offered by accounts of restoration in Ezra, though hints do appear of local inhabitants in addition to returned exiles (cf. Hag. 2:4).
As for conditions in Babylon itself, Jer. 29:5–6 envisages settlement and some independence of life. Ezek. 8:1; 20:1 refer to elders of the community meeting with the prophet there. Ezek. 1:1, 4; 8:15–17 suggest various settlements at which Jews were to be found, and both Ezek. 11:16 and 8:17 might imply the existence of temples. In any case, Cyrus of Persia, who had subdued the Babylonians, issued an edict in 538 BCE allowing the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild Jerusalem; a rebuilt temple was dedicated in 515 BCE. Thus, the exile is said to have lasted approximately seventy years, from 587/6 to 515 BCE (in Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10, a seventy-year figure is used for the exile; Dan. 9:2, 24–27 reinterprets the seventy-year period as 490 years, seeing the end of exile as sequel to the desecration of the temple in 167 BCE). Many Jews did return (e.g., those who accompanied Ezra), but the fact that many Jews continued to live in Babylon after the edict of Cyrus is clear from the presence of some Jewish names in Babylonian documents of the fifth century BCE and from the later importance of Babylonian Jewry. Impetus to renewed faithfulness to Jewish customs came from Babylonian Jews on more than one occasion.
Theological reflection on the exile is prominent in a number of biblical writings. The sins for which the exile was punishment are variously assessed and preconditions are given for the termination of exile; these include divine grace, human repentance, or a combination of the two (cf. Jer. 24; 31; Ezek. 18; Lam. 5). Indeed, the entire Deuteronomic History (Joshua–2 Kings) is thought to have been written or edited in light of the exilic experience, presenting that tragedy (and the termination of the northern kingdom) as consequences of wickedness, idolatry, and disobedience, especially on the part of monarchs. Ps. 137 offers an interpretation of the exile that includes both desolation and hope. The book of Daniel is set in the Babylonian exile, relating stories of faithfulness among Jews who continued to be persecuted there by King Nebuchadnezzar. Most scholars, however, believe that Daniel was actually written during the Seleucid period, some centuries after the exile, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes was violently persecuting Jews in an attempt to prohibit expressions of their ancestral faith. Thus, the exile was being used as a theological metaphor for trials and tribulations that Jews experienced as recurring and ongoing. The impact of the exile would continue to affect the thinking of NT authors as well. Babylon is employed by these writers as a symbol for powerful evil (1 Pet. 5:13; Rev. 14:8; 17:5; 18:10; cf. Jer. 51). First Peter spiritualizes the event, maintaining that Christians are in exile from their true home in heaven (1:1; 2:11).
Bibliography
Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Westminster, 1968.
Bickermann, Elias. “The Babylonian Captivity.” Cambridge History of Judaism. Cambridge University Press, 1984. Pp. 342–58.
Klein, Ralph W. Israel in Exile. Fortress, 1979.
P.R.A./M.A.P.
exodus, the, the successful escape of the Hebrews/Israelites from hardship and forced labor in northern Egypt. According to Genesis, Jacob (Israel) and his sons settled in Egypt because one of those sons, Joseph, had achieved a position of power and prestige there (37, 39–50). The book of Exodus, however, opens with the observation that some time later (430 years according to Exod. 12:40; 400 years according to Gen. 15:13), “a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8). The Israelites, numerous by now, became slaves, enduring bitter lives “with hard service in mortar and brick and every kind of hard labor” (1:14). Eventually, God called Moses to challenge Pharaoh and then to lead the Hebrew slaves to the promised land of Canaan. As told in the books of Exodus and Numbers, the journey began with a dramatic escape through the Red Sea (where the pursuing Egyptian army was destroyed) and then entailed forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The high point of the journey was an early stop at Mount Sinai, where Moses gave the people the Ten Commandments and, in spite of the people’s idolatrous worship of a golden calf, God established an everlasting covenant with them. God guided the Israelites throughout the exodus period, leading them by a pillar of cloud during the day and by a pillar of fire at night. Many miracles occurred along the way: God provided manna from heaven, water from a rock, and quail for meat. The Israelites, however, continually murmured against God and against Moses, necessitating divine rebukes and punishments.
The historical events underlying this narrative are difficult to reconstruct. Some of Israel’s ancestors may have entered Egypt as early as the late eighteenth century BCE, at the start of foreign (Hyksos) rule; others may have arrived in the late fourteenth or early thirteenth century, only a few years before the oppression reflected in Exod. 1. Similarly, groups of these ancestors may have left Egypt at different times, separated by many years, and under varied circumstances. The distance in time between even the latest departures from Egypt (thirteenth century BCE) and the composition of the major literary sources for accounts of the exodus (tenth–sixth centuries or later), along with the likelihood that the biblical authors knew little about the geography of the event(s), render all historical conjectures somewhat speculative. That said, most scholars tend to date the (primary or final) exodus from Egypt early in the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II (ca. 1290 BCE), so that the oppression would have begun not long after the Nineteenth Dynasty took power (ca. 1350 BCE), and the entrance to Canaan would have started some years before the end of Ramesses’ reign (ca. 1230 BCE). Another view is that the Hebrew tribes entered Egypt from Canaan at the time of the Hyksos, that the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 1580 BCE) began the oppression, and that the exodus occurred during the reign of Thutmose III (ca. 1450 BCE). This is in harmony with the statement in 1 Kings 6:1 that the construction of Solomon’s temple (ca. 970) began 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt, but that figure (twelve generations of forty years) could be symbolic.
Different routes have been proposed for the exodus as well. One route turns south after crossing the line of the modern Suez Canal (near the Bitter Lakes), parallels the eastern coast of the Gulf of Suez to the vicinity of the turquoise mines at Serabit el-Khadem, and continues inland to the traditional site of Mount Sinai at Gebel Musa. After the stay at Sinai, the people would have journeyed in a northeasterly direction to the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqabah, then around Edom and Moab, and on to Transjordan. Although this route locates Mount Sinai at the place accepted since Byzantine times, it lacks earlier support and conflicts with the biblical view that the people first headed for Canaan and were only condemned to wander after they had been at Sinai and had rejected the report of the spies sent into the land from Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran (Num. 13–14). Another proposed route runs north (a little east of the present Suez Canal), turns east along the Mediterranean coast, and follows the narrow strip of land that divides Lake Sirbon from the sea. This allows Lake Sirbon to be identified as the sea where Israel was delivered and the Egyptian pursuers were drowned (Exod. 14–15). Unfortunately, there is neither any obvious route from Lake Sirbon to Kadesh nor any easy access across the sand dunes to Sinai proper. See also Exodus, book of.
K.G.O./M.A.P.
Exodus, book of, the second of the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible); it is the second book of the Pentateuch of the Christian OT. The name Exodus is taken from the LXX’s name for the book, exodos, which means “an exit” or “a going out,” found in 19:1 and 23:16. The Hebrew name is ’elleh shemot (or shemot for short), meaning “these are the names,” which is taken from the first sentence of the book, “These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob.” The exodus from Egypt is arguably the most important “event complex” of the Hebrew Bible, and it is narrated in the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus is the second part of a five-part literary work that narrates a history of humanity from creation to Israel’s entry into the land of Canaan, which was promised to their ancestors (ca. 1200 BCE). The written text was probably finalized in the late sixth or fifth century BCE.
Contents: The beginning of the book of Exodus connects back to the book of Genesis by specifying the names of Jacob’s sons who settled in Egypt with him at the invitation of Joseph. They have multiplied and prospered. But the Egyptians are threatened by this, and a new ruler arises who enslaves the Israelites (Exod. 1). Forced labor fails to curtail the growth of the Hebrew population, and Pharaoh decrees that all male Hebrew infants are to be killed. When Moses is born, his parents hide him temporarily and then put him into a basket and set him afloat on the Nile River (Exod. 2) to save him. Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses, has compassion for him, and raises him as her own son at the royal court.
When Moses reaches adulthood, he rashly attempts to rescue some fellow Hebrews by killing their Egyptian taskmaster. He flees Egypt and takes refuge in the Sinai wilderness. There he marries Zipporah and raises a family. While Moses is shepherding the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, God appears to him at a burning bush (Exod. 3–4). God instructs Moses to return to Egypt. Once back in Egypt, he mediates Israel’s deliverance from slavery and oppression. With a series of natural and supernatural disasters called the ten plagues (Exod. 5–11), God demonstrates the superior power of Israel’s deity. After celebrating the first Passover, the Hebrews escape into the Sinai wilderness (Exod. 12–13). The Egyptian army pursues them and, just when the Hebrews appear doomed, God miraculously opens a pathway through the Reed Sea (NRSV: “Red Sea”). The Hebrews pass through the waters safely, but the Egyptians are drowned when they try to follow (Exod. 14–15). Then Moses leads the people to Mount Sinai (Exod. 16–18), where he had earlier met God at the burning bush.
At Mount Sinai, God reveals the law to the Hebrews and establishes an abiding covenant relationship with them (Exod. 19–24). In addition to making this covenant, he gives them instructions for building worship implements and a portable shrine (Exod. 25–31). Soon after the people agree to the terms of the covenant, they break it by worshiping a golden calf instead of God (Exod. 32–34). Though they deserve to be forsaken, God reestablishes the covenant with them. Then, while still encamped at Mount Sinai, the Hebrews build a tent shrine as the residence for their deity and call it the tabernacle and the tent of meeting (Exod. 35–40).
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Exodus
I. Exodus: the deliverance traditions (1:1–18:27)
A. Israel in Egypt (1:1–22)
B. The early Moses (2:1–4:31)
C. Plagues (5:1–11:10)
D. Passover (12:1–13:16)
E. Exodus from Egypt (13:17–15:21)
F. Wilderness journey (15:22–18:27)
II. Sinai: the covenant traditions (19:1–40:38)
A. Theophany on the mountain (19:1–25)
B. Law and covenant (20:1–23:33)
1. Ten commandments (20:1–17)
2. Covenant code (20:18–23:33)
C. Covenant confirmation ceremony (24:1–18)
D. Tabernacle design (25:1–31:18)
E. Covenant breaking and remaking (32:1–34:35)
1. Golden calf (32:1–35)
2. Covenant renewal (33:1–34:35)
F. Tabernacle construction (35:1–40:38)
Background: The book of Exodus is organized chronologically, and it narrates the course of events in a linear historical fashion. Yet an analysis of the text reveals that it was compiled from preexisting sources. The Documentary Hypothesis is the standard scholarly explanation of how the Pentateuch was composed and came to have its final shape. Given this theory, the book of Exodus was compiled with material taken from the Old Epic source of Yahwist and Elohist material along with Priestly writings, including the account of the tabernacle. In addition, some material from other sources found its way into the book, including the Song of the Sea (chap. 15) and the Covenant Code (20:22–23:33). The exodus event is recorded only in the Bible, and its historicity cannot be verified directly on the basis of Egyptian sources. A case can be made, however, for the plausibility of the biblical stories of Joseph, Moses, and the Israelites in Egypt (see Hoffmeier).
Themes: The relationship between God and the Israelites was defined by a legal instrument called a covenant. The notion of covenant comes from the political realm of international relations. A covenant formalized alliances between parties and defined expectations within those relationships. Ancient covenants often took the shape of suzerain-vassal treaties. The covenant established at Mount Sinai between God and Israel took this general form and structured the relationship as a theocracy, with God as sovereign and Israel as the people of God.
Israel’s covenant relationship with God was defined by laws, called statutes and ordinances in the text. The entire corpus of regulations derived from God, who articulated them to Moses, who then taught them to the people of Israel. This is the sense of the collective term torah; often translated “law,” it also has the meaning of “teaching,” since Moses was a teacher of God’s will. The mode in which Moses received the revelation directly from God became the paradigm of legitimate lawgiving in the biblical world; for any requirement to be legitimate and find acceptance, it had to be issued by God through Moses at Sinai.
The laws contained in the book of Exodus in fact came from various sources, and not all were originally connected with a revelatory event at Mount Sinai. There are two Decalogues in Exodus (20:1–17; 34:11–26) as well as the Covenant Code (20:22–23:33). In addition, the Priestly Code and the Holiness Code in Leviticus were both associated with Mount Sinai, but were written later. There are affinities between legal codes and covenants from the ancient Near East, including the Code of Hammurabi, that suggest Israelite dependency on a prior Mesopotamian legal tradition.
The book of Exodus contains a significant number of divine revelations that serve to characterize God and make God evident to the people through divine appearances, called theophanies. These theophanies typically were associated with storms, clouds, lightning, or fire. The divine name YHWH (“the LORD”) was revealed in a burning bush (Exod. 3) and was declared to be the deity’s personal name, exclusively revealed to Israel. The crossing of the sea (Exod. 14) revealed God as the warrior god who controlled the sea. The pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness led the Israelites to their destination. God’s presence on Mount Sinai as a prelude to lawgiving took the form of an earthquake and a storm (Exod. 19). When Moses, Aaron, and the elders ascended Mount Sinai for the divine banquet, they beheld the “glory of the LORD” (the divine aura) covering the mountain (Exod. 24). The design plan of the tabernacle (Exod. 25–31) and the construction process (Exod. 35–40) dominate the latter part of the book. The tabernacle was designed to house the “glory of the LORD,” and at its dedication a cloud covered it and the “glory of the LORD” filled it (Exod. 40:34–37). A second structure called the tent of meeting is also mentioned frequently. Presumably the references to two different portable dwellings are due to different sources. All together these theophanies portray a powerful deity who cares for and commands the allegiance of the Israelites.
Influences: Exodus is arguably the most influential book of the Hebrew Bible, because it contains the foundational elements of Israel’s national story: the revelation of God’s name to Israel; the first Passover celebration; Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, including crossing the sea to safety in the wilderness; the formal covenant between God and Israel; the divine revelation of the Torah for Israel’s life through Moses; and the construction of a structure to house the divine presence among the people. The exodus is an event that demonstrated God’s compassion for the oppressed and God’s power to deliver people from oppression. In the prophetic literature of the Bible, the exodus becomes a symbol of hope; this is especially true for the book of Jeremiah, written during the Babylonian crisis (see 16:14–15), and for the portion of Isaiah that comes out of the Babylonian exile (cf. 43:16–21; 51:10). Several features in the Gospel of Matthew’s account of Jesus (esp. Matt. 1–8), including Herod’s killing of Bethlehem’s children, the flight of Joseph and Mary with the baby Jesus to Egypt, Satan tempting Jesus for forty days in the wilderness, and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, find their sequence and inspiration in the book of Exodus.
The exodus was taken up by many people throughout Western history as a source of inspiration and hope. The Puritan flight to freedom in New England, the emancipation struggle of African American slaves, the civil rights movement of the twentieth century, the Christian liberationist movement in Latin America (see Pixley), and the migration of Jews from the Soviet Union to the state of Israel all drew upon the Israelite exodus tradition. The cultural influence of Exodus is no less significant. The ethical Decalogue of Exod. 20 has become the most visible Western symbol of morality and religious devotion, including sabbath observance. The figure of Israel’s great lawgiver Moses (see Assmann) was rendered famously in stone by Michelangelo. Cecil B. DeMille’s classic film The Ten Commandments has iconized Moses and offered a cinematic presentation of how events like the crossing of the sea took place, providing a lens through which the story is sometimes popularly imagined. See also exodus, the; Moses; Pentateuch, sources of the.
Bibliography
Assmann, Jan. Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 4th ed. Wadsworth, 2009.
Childs, Brevard S. The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary. Westminster, 1974.
Coats, George W. Exodus 1–18. Eerdmans, 1999.
Hoffmeier, James K. Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition. Oxford University Press, 1997.
Pixley, George V. On Exodus: A Liberation Perspective. Orbis Books, 1987.
Sarna, Nahum M. Exodus (Shemot): The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation. Jewish Publication Society, 1991.
B.B.
exorcism. See demon; divination; magic.
expiation. See atonement.
eye, in the Bible, usually the literal organ for sight, but the term may also be used to refer to a person’s look or appearance (Lev. 13:55) or applied in a variety of metaphorical senses. For example, a person whose eye is “evil” is one consumed with jealousy, envy, or malice toward another (Sir. 14:10; Matt. 6:23; Mark 7:22). “Eye” can also be used in connection with the heart or mind (Sir. 17:8; Eph. 1:18; Luke 19:42). Therefore, those who are without understanding can be described as having their eyes blinded (Isa. 6:10; Matt. 13:15; Mark 8:18; John 12:40; Acts 28:27). The loss of an eye would be a literal tragedy, but may also stand figuratively for calamity in general; thus the law of retaliation permits vengeance that does not surpass “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” (Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21). Jesus took issue with that allowance (Matt. 5:38–39), but spoke of plucking out one’s own eye if it causes one to sin (Matt. 5:29). God is sometimes pictured as having multiple eyes (Zech. 4:10; cf. Job 1:6).
P.P.
eye of a needle. See needle, needlework.
Ezekiel (i-zee′kee-uhl), book of, the third book of what is sometimes called the Latter Prophets, a subcollection in the Nevi’im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible). It is the third book of the Major Prophets of the Christian OT. The name Ezekiel means “God is strong” or “God will strengthen.” Ezekiel the son of Buzi was a Jerusalem priest who was taken to Babylonia in the first deportation of Judeans to Babylonia in 598 BCE. He was married (24:15–18), but there is no mention of children. Along with other Judeans, he was resettled in Tel-abib on the Chebar canal, an offshoot of the Euphrates River. There he had visions of the divine presence in 593. These visions compelled him to communicate to his fellow exiles that the destruction of Jerusalem was a foregone conclusion. He prophesied in exile until 571 (29:17); the forced exile of the Judeans lasted until 538, so he never returned to Judea. Ezekiel’s priestly pedigree accounts for the worldview reflected in his visions, his interest in the “glory of the Lord,” and his detailed reimagining of the Jerusalem temple.
Contents: Compared to the prophetic books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel is much more linear and logical in composition and structure. The book of Ezekiel hinges on the fact of Jerusalem’s destruction in 587. The first half of the book (1–24) consists of Ezekiel’s attempts to convince the exilic community that relief from Babylonian domination would not come soon; in fact, Judah’s condition would worsen. Thus, any hopes for a swift return to the homeland would not be realized. The second half of the book (25–48) consists of Ezekiel’s attempts to bolster the faith of the exiles after Jerusalem’s destruction. The oracles against Judah’s neighbors and detractors anticipate their demise, which is the necessary precursor to Judah’s restoration. The individual components of the book are ordered chronologically with only three segments out of order (cf. 26:1; 29:17; 33:21). Major sections are introduced with a year, month, and day notice; the years are specified in relation to the year of King Jehoiachin’s exile and imprisonment in Babylon, 598/7 BCE. Overall, the book displays a deliberate movement from judgment to hope and disaster to salvation.
Themes: Ezekiel is often regarded as the only prophetic book of the Bible that is set in Babylonian exile. (Although much of Daniel is set in Babylon, it is only grouped with the prophetic books in the Christian OT; in the Jewish Bible, it is placed among the Writings, or Ketuvim.) Ezekiel is addressed as “son of man” (Heb. ben ’adam; NRSV: “O mortal”) consistently throughout the book. Ezekiel introduces divine messages by the clause “The word of the LORD came to me.” Ezekiel uses the phrase “glory of the LORD” ten times, more than any other book in the Bible. This phrase is typically used in the Bible in priestly books to designate God’s aura, which made the divine presence evident, usually at the tent of meeting/tabernacle or temple.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I. Warnings of disaster (before 587 BCE; chaps. 1–24)
A. Throne-chariot vision (chaps. 1–3)
B. Symbolic acts (chaps. 4–7)
C. Vision of a corrupt temple (chaps. 8–11)
D. Symbolic acts and allegories of disaster (chaps. 12–24)
II. Hopes for restoration (after 587 BCE; chaps. 25–48)
A. Oracles against foreign nations (chaps. 25–32)
B. Words of hope after the fall of Jerusalem (chaps. 33–39)
C. Vision of a restored temple (chaps. 40–48)
In each of his visionary experiences Ezekiel describes how the “hand of the LORD” was upon him, sometimes transporting him to a different place. In Ezekiel’s first vision (chaps. 1–3) a flying chariot emerges out of a lightning storm. Ezekiel elaborately describes the cherubim, strange creatures that provide it mobility with wings and wheels. A throne rests upon a dome supported by the creatures, and on it a gleaming and fiery humanlike form resides, which appears to be the “glory of the LORD.” A voice commissions Ezekiel to bring advance warning to Israel of the divine plan to destroy Jerusalem as punishment for the sins of the nation. A hand gives him a scroll and tells him to eat it, then speak its words of judgment to God’s people in exile. In Ezekiel’s second vision (chaps. 8–11) he is transported back to the Jerusalem temple, where he is shown evidence of false worship taking place. This prompts the “glory of the LORD” to leave the temple borne on the wings of cherubim; it hovers, then leaves Jerusalem completely. In Ezekiel’s third vision (37:1–14) he is transported to a valley piled high with human bones. God urges him to prophesy to the bones, and by stages the bones become skeletons, then corpses, then by the divine spirit living breathing people, a revived house of Israel. In Ezekiel’s fourth vision (chaps. 40–48) the hand of God transports him to a high mountain, and he is shown a new temple and all its implements, along with the precise dimensions of every room and structure. This new temple becomes the centerpiece of a new land. In this last vision the throne-chariot bearing the “glory of the LORD” returns to the temple and fills it (43:1–5).
Ezekiel symbolically depicted the coming destruction of Jerusalem by building a model of the city, then using miniature weapons of war to bring it down. Then he bound himself to the ground one day for each year to depict how long Israel and Judah would be in confinement, all the while subsisting on wretched rations (chap. 4). He shaved his head and beard and then destroyed the cuttings with fire, sword, and wind to symbolize how Jerusalem would meet its end (chap. 5). He packed his bags, dug a hole through a wall of his house, and then took flight in order to symbolize how the people will attempt to get away before the fall of the city (chap. 12). The death of his wife, for which God forbade him to show signs of mourning, served as a sign of the coming desolation of the temple (24:15–27). After the destruction was an accomplished fact, he took two sticks, one standing for Judah and one for Israel, and miraculously joined them into one long stick to symbolize the reconnection of the two into one nation ruled by one king from the house of David (37:15–28).
In what might be called parables or allegories, Ezekiel used a variety of objects as the basis for lessons regarding Jerusalem. Like the people of Jerusalem, the dead wood of a vine is no good for anything except fires (chap. 15). Jerusalem was a helpless infant until God found it and cared for it; then it became beautiful, turned to whoring, and abandoned its God (chap. 16). An eagle and a cedar tree symbolize the power of leaders in Babylon and Egypt (chaps. 17, 31). The proverb “parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge” is cited to refute the people’s avoidance of direct responsibility for bringing on the disaster of destruction (chap. 18). Two sisters who become prostitutes stand for Israel and Judah gone astray (chap. 23). A pot set to boiling symbolizes the siege and destruction of Jerusalem (chap. 24).
Influences: The vision of the throne-chariot in Ezek. 1 inspired certain esoteric tendencies in Judaism, including merkavah (“chariot”) mysticism and hekalot (“temples”) mysticism. In some traditions, because chap. 1 of Ezekiel is mysterious and transcendental, only spiritually mature and learned Jewish teachers were allowed to expound it. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (chap. 37) has been used to support expectations of the rebirth of Israel among Jews and Christians, especially dispensationalists, and many have seen its fulfillment in the modern state of Israel. This chapter was also the inspiration for the African American spiritual entitled “Dem Bones.”
Bibliography
Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 4th ed. Wadsworth, 2009.
Greenberg, Moshe. Ezekiel. 2 vols. Doubleday, 1983–1997.
Levenson, Jon D. Theology of the Program of Restoration of Ezekiel 40–48. Harvard University Press, 1976.
Zimmerli, Walter. Ezekiel. 2 vols. Fortress, 1979–83.
———. The Fiery Throne: The Prophets and Old Testament Theology. Fortress, 2003.
B.B.
Ezem (ee′zuhm; Heb., “bone”), a town in southern Judah counted as belonging to both Judah (Josh. 15:29) and Simeon (19:3). Since the tribe of Simeon was early assimilated into Judah, the town was probably originally assigned to Simeon, but was absorbed into Judah as Simeon lost its identity (note Gen. 49:5–7). The site is unknown.
Ezer (ee′zuhr; Heb. ‘ezer, “help”).
1 A descendant of Judah belonging to the Hur family group (1 Chron. 4:4).
2 A Manassite, the son of Ephraim; he was killed with his brother Elead in a raid against Philistine livestock at Gath (1 Chron. 7:21).
3 A Gadite who joined David’s warriors at Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:9).
4 The son of Jeshua; he helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Neh. 3:19).
5 A priest who took part in the dedication of the rebuilt walls in postexilic Jerusalem (Neh. 12:42); he is possibly the same as 4.
6 A son of Seir and chieftain of the Horites, ancient inhabitants of Edom (Gen. 36:21). In this case, the name Ezer actually translated the Hebrew word ‘etser (“treasure”) rather than the word ‘ezer (“help”), as in the first five listings. See also Horites.
D.R.B.
Ezion-geber (ee′zee-uhn-gay′buhr), a town in Edom on the Gulf of Aqabah. It is listed in Num. 33:35–36 as a stopping place during the exodus. Solomon “built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber” and sent them on profitable journeys to southern Arabia and East Africa (1 Kings 9:26–28; 10:11; 2 Chron. 8:17; 9:10–11). After Solomon’s death (ca. 976 BCE) the region reverted to Edomite control. It was reconquered by Jehoshaphat of Judah, who also built a fleet of ships that were subsequently “wrecked at Ezion-geber” (1 Kings 22:48; 2 Chron. 20:36). They may have been destroyed by the Edomites, or by a tempest, for although the average rainfall is only 2 inches, savage winter storms occur along the Arabah.
The exact site of Ezion-geber is far from certain. Some authorities equate it with Elath (Deut. 2:8; 1 Kings 9:26; cf. Eloth, 2 Chron. 8:17), suggesting that Ezion-geber was the Israelite name and Elath the Edomite. The site is then identified with the oasis of Aqabah at the northeast corner of the gulf, an area with a good water supply and easy access to the Edomite plateau via the Wadi Ytem. There is, unfortunately, no evidence of Iron Age (1200–334 BCE) occupation in this area, although it is possible that all vestiges of a settlement could have been washed away by flash floods. Those who believe that there were two distinct settlements usually place Elath at Aqabah and Ezion-geber at modern Tell el-Kheleifeh, which is located almost in the center of the northern tip of the gulf and 550 yards from the shore.
This site was excavated by Nelson Glueck between 1938 and 1940 and revealed five periods of occupation. The earliest structure, probably erected during the reign of Solomon, was a small well-built mud-brick building with a courtyard and massive southern gate. Glueck first equated this with Solomon’s copper refinery, but B. Rothenburg has since shown that the nearby copper mines are in fact some centuries earlier, and he suggests that the building was a Solomonic fort or caravanserai. Since the site is completely exposed to the occasional furious winter storms, it can hardly have served as an important anchorage for shipping; a military outpost to guard the south end of the Arabah seems more probable.
The second period had a much stronger building, with a double mud-brick wall and massive four-chambered gate, probably belonging to the time of Jehoshaphat’s reign (ca. 873–849 BCE). The last biblical mention of Ezion-geber occurs in connection with Jehoshaphat’s rule (1 Kings 22:48), but Elath was recaptured for Judah either by Amaziah (2 Kings 14:22) or more probably by Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:2, NRSV: “Eloth”), whose son Jotham appears to be mentioned on a seal found in the third period of Tell el-Kheleifeh. In about 733 BCE, Elath fell to the Edomites (2 Kings 16:6), who evidently rebuilt Tell el-Kheleifeh, for some Edomite jar handles have been found at the fourth level. The fifth and final occupation was sometime in the sixth century BCE during the Babylonian and early Persian empires, but the site was abandoned in the early fifth century BCE. See also Amaziah; Edom; Jehoshaphat; Solomon.
D.B.
Ezra (ez′ruh; Heb., “help”), the priest and scribe whose story appears in Ezra 7–10 and Neh. 8–9. In the biblical tradition, Ezra is commissioned by Artaxerxes to lead the exiles in Babylon back to Judah, and he is vested with authority to impose the Mosaic law there, within the Persian province “Beyond the River.” In Jerusalem, Ezra reads the law publicly (Ezra 8:1–12), renews the celebration of festivals (8:13–18), and lends his full support to rededicating the temple and rebuilding the city walls (9–10; 12:36). He also promulgates a strict policy with regard to returnees who have married foreign (non-Israelite) women during the exile. Such people are urged to divorce and banish their wives, along with any children produced from the union (Ezra 9–10). Ezra is also mentioned in Neh. 12:26, 36, and his name appears on lists in Neh. 12:13, 33. In 12:1, 13 he is named as a priestly leader.
Problems arise when trying to fit the biblical accounts of Ezra with known history. First, it is not clear which Persian ruler named Artaxerxes is intended as the ruler who authorizes Ezra’s work (Ezra 7:1). Furthermore, as the biblical narratives now stand, the activities of Ezra and Nehemiah overlap, but there is no real contact between them, and it is often believed that the two actually worked separately. This has led to the proposal that Ezra should be placed later than Nehemiah, Nehemiah in the reign of Artaxerxes I and Ezra in that of Artaxerxes II, but there is no certainty in that regard. If Ezra was active under Artaxerxes I, the date of his journey to Jerusalem will have been 458 BCE; if under Artaxerxes II, 398 BCE. A number of scholars, influenced by these uncertainties and the strange lack of reference to Ezra in other sources (e.g., the list of “famous men” in Sir. 44–50), have questioned his very existence. There is also discussion as to whether his mission should be regarded as mainly political (as a trusted servant of the Persian king sent to maintain order in a distant province) or as mainly religious (as the instrument through whom the law of Moses was made available to the Jerusalem community). See also Artaxerxes; Ezra and Nehemiah, books of.
R.C.
Ezra and Nehemiah (nee-uh-mi′uh), books of, two books of the Christian OT that were originally a single work and are often studied as a combined book (Ezra–Nehemiah). In the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), Ezra–Nehemiah is found in the Writings section, or Ketuvim, immediately before the books of Chronicles. In the Christian OT, they are found as consecutive works, placed among the historical books, right after Chronicles. In the Jewish Tanakh, Ezra–Nehemiah was most likely made part of the canon first, so they were present before Chronicles was added. But in the Christian OT, the chronology of the books’ contents determines the order: the events of Chronicles precede those of Ezra–Nehemiah, so Chronicles comes first. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are the most important source of information about the postexilic restoration of Jewish community life in Judea from 539 to ca. 430 BCE.
Contents: The combined work of Ezra–Nehemiah can be easily divided into three sections: the Book of Zerubbabel (Ezra 1–6), Ezra’s memoirs (Ezra 7–10; Neh. 8–9), and Nehemiah’s memoirs (Neh. 1–7; 10–13). In addition to the historical material, the presence of Ezra material in Nehemiah has confirmed the link between the two texts for scholars.
Ezra 1–6: The first section of Ezra, termed the Book of Zerubbabel, relates the history of the early returnees from Babylonian exile. It covers the period from the end of exile in 538 to the completion of the rebuilt temple in 515. The book begins with a verbatim record of the decree of Cyrus allowing the Judean refugees to return to Jerusalem. This decree was issued in 538 and authorized the rebuilding of the temple. Cyrus, a Persian, acknowledged that the LORD is the God of Israel, and he attributes to this deity the gift of his own power. The fact that Cyrus authorized the temple rebuilding becomes important later in the book when Samaritans from the north and others oppose rebuilding activities in Jerusalem.
The first group of returned refugees is led by Sheshbazzar, who has been appointed governor of Judea. He may have been the son of Jehoiachin, Judah’s king in exile. Sheshbazzar and the first group of returnees succeed in laying the foundations of the temple. For unspecified reasons the work breaks off, and the temple remains unfinished until a subsequent return of Jewish refugees. The most productive return is led by Zerubbabel, another leader from the line of David, in 522 BCE, near the beginning of the reign of Darius I.
The most significant restoration event of this period is the completion of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Authorities call this structure the second temple because the one built by Solomon was the first temple. The second temple remained intact until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Zerubbabel, the civic leader, is assisted by the high priest Jeshua and by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Together they motivate the people to complete the project begun by Sheshbazzar, and it is finished in 515. This section of Ezra ends with an account of the dedication of the temple and the celebration of Passover.
Ezra 7–10; Neh. 8–9: Four chapters of the book of Ezra and two chapters of the book of Nehemiah deal with Ezra the scribe. There is a gap of about sixty years between the events of the Book of Zerubbabel (Ezra 1–6) and those of the Ezra memoirs (Ezra 7–10; Neh. 8–9).
Ezra is a priest descended from the line of Aaron through Zadok. He is also a scribe, which essentially means that he is a royal administrator; he serves under the Persian king Artaxerxes I. He may have returned to Judea from Babylon in 458 with another group of refugees; scholars debate this date of Ezra’s mission. The seventh year of Artaxerxes I (Ezra 7:7) would be 458 BCE, the date often used. But the problem is this: Ezra and Nehemiah do not seem to acknowledge each other, and they seem to work independently of each other, even though the straightforward reckoning of their dates puts them in Jerusalem at the same time. Consequently, some scholars place Ezra after Nehemiah, and they read Ezra 7:7 as indicating the thirty-seventh year of Artaxerxes, rather than seventh, thus placing the beginning of Ezra’s mission in 428. Still others place the beginning of Ezra’s work in 398 during the reign of Artaxerxes II (404–358). Complicating the matter further, Neh. 8:9 and 12:26, 36 do place Ezra and Nehemiah in Jerusalem at the same time, though these are often judged to be late editorial insertions.
Ezra has authorization from the Persian government to reestablish proper modes for worshiping God and for adherence to the Torah of Moses. In Ezra’s analysis, one of the most serious problems among the Judeans is mixed marriages. In the interim of the exile, Judean men have married Canaanite, Hittite, Ammonite, Moabite, and Egyptian women. Ezra sees this as a breach of the injunction to remain separate from non-Israelite people. Intermarriage promotes assimilation and is a threat to Israelite religion and identity. Israel’s theological historians had concluded that one of the biggest reasons for Israel’s downfall was intermarriage with Canaanites, which led to idolatry. Thus, Ezra requires Jewish men to divorce their non-Jewish wives and to expel them from Judean territory, along with any children from the marriage. It is a time of great anxiety and mourning, but the priests, Levites, and ordinary people who have married foreign women do as Ezra asks.
Ezra also rededicates the people to keeping the Torah (Neh. 8–9). He assembles all Jewish adults in Jerusalem and reads the book of the Torah of Moses to them in Hebrew. However, because Hebrew is no longer their vernacular, having been replaced by Aramaic during the exile, there are translators who interpret the text to the people as he reads. This is the first biblical attestation of the practice of scripture being translated from one language to another. After the Torah is read and interpreted, the people celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles, which is a commemoration of the wilderness-wandering period of early Israelite history. Then Ezra offers a prayer addressed to the LORD, the God of the Jews, citing the manifold ways that the LORD directly intervened in history from creation to that moment.
Neh. 1–7; 10–13: Nehemiah is an official at the court of Artaxerxes I in Susa and is probably a eunuch. He travels to Jerusalem in 445 BCE to be the governor of the Persian Empire’s province of Yehud, i.e., Judea. His great accomplishment is rebuilding the enclosure walls of Jerusalem. His work is opposed by Sanballat, leader of the Samaritans, and by Tobiah, leader of the Ammonites. They see his efforts as a threat to their power and influence in the region. On various occasions, they try to stop the work, and they even try to assassinate him. Nehemiah and his crew are able to complete the rebuilding of the walls in fifty-two days despite the opposition. These walls give Jerusalem the protection and security its people need.
Shortly afterward Nehemiah institutes some important social and economic reforms. He closes the city on the sabbath so that no trading can take place. He guarantees that the Levites will receive their proper support and, like Ezra, he forbids mixed marriages. Nehemiah serves twelve years as governor of the province and then returns to Babylon in 433.
OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
Ezra–Nehemiah
I. Book of Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1–6:22)
A. Decree authorizing rebuilding (1:1–11)
B. List of returnees (2:1–70)
C. Restoration (3:1–13)
D. Opposition to restoration (4:1–24)
E. Restoration completed (5:1–6:22)
II. Ezra’s memoirs 1 (Ezra 7:1–10:44)
A. Ezra introduced (7:1–10)
B. Ezra’s commission (7:11–26)
C. Ezra’s departure (8:1–36)
D. Mixed marriages (9:1–10:44)
III. Nehemiah’s memoirs 1 (Neh. 1:1–7:73)
A. Nehemiah’s commission (1:1–2:8)
B. Preparation for rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls (2:9–3:32)
C. Opposition and Nehemiah’s defense (4:1–23)
D. Nehemiah’s economic reforms (5:1–19)
E. Nehemiah completes the walls (6:1–7:4)
F. Census of returned exiles (7:5–73)
IV. Ezra’s memoirs 2 (Neh. 8:1–9:38)
A. Ezra reads book of the Torah to the people (8:1–12)
B. Celebration of Festival of Tabernacles (8:13–17)
C. National confession and Ezra’s complaint (9:1–38)
V. Nehemiah’s memoirs 2 (Neh. 10:1–13:31)
A. Covenant to keep Torah and support the temple (10:1–39)
B. Jerusalem repopulated (11:1–12:26)
C. Dedication of city wall, temple revenues (12:27–13:3)
D. Nehemiah’s reforms (13:4–31)
Background: It was traditionally thought that both Ezra and Nehemiah were composed by Ezra shortly after the events described in the book. Most modern scholars, however, do not believe that Ezra wrote these books, though it is possible that some of the sections go back to Ezra and Nehemiah. Scholars view Ezra–Nehemiah as a composite work having multiple sources and belonging to several genres. The work shifts from third-person accounts to first-person autobiography at various points. In addition, there are certain sections of Ezra that are written in Aramaic instead of in traditional Hebrew. Although the original order of the chapters and the book’s relationship to Chronicles are debated by scholars, most feel that the books were completed around 400 BCE.
Themes: One of the major themes in Ezra–Nehemiah is that God uses foreign rulers to further God’s purposes. In the Ezra material, God uses the authority and power of King Cyrus of Persia to instigate a movement to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The initiative to begin rebuilding the temple does not come from the people of Israel, but from a foreign ruler. In the Nehemiah material, God uses the authority and power of King Artaxerxes of Persia in order to instigate a movement to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. The initiative to begin rebuilding comes from Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, but is authorized by King Artaxerxes.
Another theme found in Ezra–Nehemiah is the opposition of the people of the land. In the Ezra material, this takes the form of opposition to Ezra’s reforms. The people who are living in Judah when the people of God return from exile offer to help in the building process, but are denied (4:1–3). As a result, the “people of the land” resist all of the former exiles’ attempts to rebuild the temple. In the Nehemiah material, the opposition is to Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall. Nehemiah is ridiculed by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem for rebuilding the wall (Neh. 2:19, 4:1–7). Even his own people complain of not being able to work their fields (Neh. 5). Nehemiah faces opposition from within and without throughout the process of rebuilding the wall.
The last major theme of Ezra–Nehemiah is the separation of the people of Israel from foreign nations and peoples. First, Ezra’s reform calls for those who married foreign wives to divorce them and to expel them along with any children from that marriage. Although this process does encounter resistance, it helps to solidify the cultural and religious identity of the Jewish people. Second, Nehemiah calls the people to build a wall, which will provide security from attack, but also separation from those outside.
Interpretive Issues: The most important interpretive issue in Ezra–Nehemiah studies is its relationship to the book of Chronicles. Scholars have noted thematic similarities and the fact that the beginning of Ezra–Nehemiah is the same as the end of Chronicles. There is currently a divide in the scholarly community over whether these books had the same author or two authors. Some scholars talk of a “Chronicler’s school” that was responsible for all of these books, while others call attention to points of divergence between the books. Childs argues that, although the Chronicler played a significant role in the shaping of Ezra–Nehemiah, these books do not have the same author. Eskenazi argues for two authors, claiming that concern for the cult is the only significant similar theme between the two books, while other themes demonstrate their dissimilarity. Min argues for separate authorship on literary grounds and holds that the books’ ideological differences present the strongest arguments for separate authorship.
The second major interpretive issue in the book of Ezra–Nehemiah is that of intermarriage. Ezra called the Jewish men to divorce their foreign wives and expel the children from those marriages. This has been viewed as cruel and exclusivist by many modern readers. In particular, it has been noted that Ezra makes no mention of Jewish women marrying foreign men. This is presumably because lineage was traced through the male and the women who married foreign men were no longer considered part of the community.
The last major interpretive issue in the book of Ezra–Nehemiah is the chronological order of the book. The book of Ezra–Nehemiah places the two main figures as rough contemporaries, but they do not refer to each other during the book. In addition, during Nehemiah’s second trip to Jerusalem he deals with the same issues of intermarriage that plagued Ezra. The dating of Ezra and Nehemiah’s ministries is further complicated by the fact that part of the story of Ezra is in the book of Nehemiah. Gottwald argues that the editor of Ezra–Nehemiah intentionally separated and reordered the sections of Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s stories in order to draw them closer together thematically. He argues that Nehemiah preceded Ezra and that they worked separately.
Influences: The books of Ezra and Nehemiah drew upon preexisting sources, including personal memoirs, Persian court documents and correspondence, Jewish lists of families and descendants, and narrative records. An Aramaic collection may have been the source behind Ezra 4:7–6:18, which remains in the Aramaic language, while the remainder of Ezra–Nehemiah is in Hebrew. Some scholars believe that it was Ezra who brought what is called the P material, which served as the Priestly source for the Pentateuch, to Jerusalem and helped to integrate it into the existing Pentateuch. Some have argued that Ezra is responsible for the final version of the Pentateuch, though most simply acknowledge that Ezra had some influence on the Pentateuch’s formation (cf. Neh. 8).
The combined work of Ezra–Nehemiah and the themes contained therein influenced, not only the Judaism of the Second Temple period, but all of subsequent Jewish life and thought. In particular, the forbidding of marriage to non-Israelites and the imposition of Torah as the civic constitution of Jerusalem and Yehud significantly determined the direction of Judaism after the exile. See also Chronicles, First and Second Books of.
Bibliography
Bandstra, Barry L. Reading the Old Testament: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. 4th ed. Wadsworth, 2009.
Berquist, Jon L. Judaism in Persia’s Shadow: A Social and Historical Approach. Augsburg Fortress, 1996.
Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Fortress, 1979.
Edelman, Diana V. The Origins of the “Second” Temple: Persian Imperial Policy and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem. Equinox, 2005.
Eskenazi, Tamara C. In an Age of Prose: A Literary Approach to Ezra–Nehemiah. Scholars, 1988.
Gottwald, Norman K. The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction. Fortress, 1985.
Min, Kyung-Jin. The Levitical Authorship of Ezra–Nehemiah. Clark, 2004.
B.B.